


Hello Stranger

by the_lady_writes_what



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: AU, Comfort, Denial, Eventual relationship, F/M, Gen, Hot and Cold, Modern Demons, Multi, Other, Romance, Slow Burn, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:21:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 59,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23673787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_lady_writes_what/pseuds/the_lady_writes_what
Summary: Starving artist Tatsuhana Hamasaki made her first biggest mistake in running over Sesshomaru Taisho, heir to an enormous fortune, with her bike. Her second biggest mistake was getting attached.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Miroku/Sango (InuYasha), Sesshomaru & OC
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another modern AU for the Inuyasha fandom. This lovely brain child of mine can still be found on Fanfiction, however I've outgrown that site and I'm moving it here. 
> 
> Slow Burn

_BRIIIING!_

_BRIIIIING!_

_BRIIIIINNNG!_

Tatsuhana slammed her hand onto the alarm clock. With bleary eyes, she squinted at the clock. Six A.M and she had twenty minutes to get dressed, pack her things, and head out the door. Five minutes to get onto her bike and precisely twenty minutes to cycle her way to the art institute for her first class. If she didn't get up now, she was going to be late. The art teacher was strict for someone who was teaching the liberal arts. Having no choice in the matter, Tatsuhana threw off her blankets and hobbled to her dresser just as the orange sunrise started to creep into her bedroom. Her stomach whined, but there was no time to eat. She picked something simple that she didn't mind getting sweaty in, some jeans and an old black t-shirt. Her bedclothes were stripped and dumped onto the floor as she hurriedly shoved her legs into the pair of skinny jeans. She sneered at the bare ankle glaring back at her. Unfortunately, most pants ended up being capris for her due to her unusual height. Most Japanese women came in at five-foot-five or shorter; 

Tatsuhana was super uncommon in that she grew to be five-foot-ten. She was even taller than some of the men she knew.

Her shirt was extra baggy to hide the fact that her jeans fit a little too snugly on her hips. Despite eating well and daily exercise, she still managed to develop a little bit of a muffin top. She believed that she fit more naturally in Western-sized clothing as everything in Japan refused to fit her properly. She ran a brush through her long hair and tied it into a ponytail at her neck.

Quickly, she packed all that she would or might need into a single black backpack. Wallet, pencil bag, jumbo-sized erasers, earbuds, her cell phone, sketchbook, and other miscellanies. On the other side of her small apartment, stood a shrine. Nothing particularly special or ornate, but it housed the last two pictures of her parents. Tatsuhana bowed from the waist in the direction of her home shrine before sprinting to the front door. Shoving her feet into a pair of worn tennis shoes, Tatsuhana grabbed her keys and her bike helmet from the wall by the door. She headed out with her backpack firmly on her shoulders and snapped the helmet's buckle under her chin as she skipped down the steps to the ground floor of the complex.

She sighed with relief to find her new bike right where she left it. She'd already lost two bikes to thieves. Of course, if they had tried anything, they would have to get through all four of the bike chains she outfitted her new ride with and avoid setting off the airhorn she rigged just in case. Disarming the bike and unlocking every chain, Tatsuhana got on and peddled like the wind. At six-thirty in the morning, traffic was only starting to pick up. She sped past high school students milling down the sidewalks, taking their sweet time to get to school. The grocer at the mom and pop food market stand waved as she peddled past. Tatsuhana, without thinking, turned briefly to wave back.

Tatsuhana was a good cyclist. She wore reflective clothing when riding at night and used turn signals when necessary. She rode on bicycle lanes when possible. She stopped for kids walking the street and always rode in the direction of traffic. On every other day, Tatsuhana was a considerate cyclist.

But…sometimes even the best and most responsible bike riders make mistakes.

A man walked in front of her, coming almost out of nowhere. Even if she had been paying attention, she wouldn't have been able to stop her bike in time. Tatsuhana rang her bell to warn the pedestrian and braked hard, nearly twisting her ankles in the process. Her bike skidded on the pavement, almost busting open the rubber wheels. Tatsuhana on her bike and the man collided.

She blacked out for a moment. Just a minute from the shock of it all. When she came to, she was looking up at the sky and the towering buildings around her. The friendly grocer,  
Mr. Akabi, appeared into view, red-faced and huffing.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Tatsuhana felt around her skull. Nothing was bleeding. Her back, shoulders, and probably her legs were going to be sore for at least a day, but nothing seemed broken or sprained.

"Yea. I think I'm good."

"Master Sesshomaru!" Came a nasally voice.  
Tatsuhana shot up and remembered. She hit somebody with her bike. Getting up, her eyes landed on her victim. The man had gotten up before she did with on a slight scrape in his pant leg. He dusted himself off in no worse shape but had the appearance of one who had paint dumped on him. The mostly human crowd formed a small circle to gawk at the show. The man was nothing ordinary. He stood taller than all the men around him. A solid six feet tall if Tatsuhana had to guess. Even in a ponytail, his whitish-silver hair still reached to the small of his back. Magenta stripes on his cheek, and the violet moon stamped on his forehead made him something Tatsuhana should be very afraid of.

_A demon._

Demons weren't uncommon. They'd been around since the feudal era, making themselves known to Emperor Go-Daigo during his overthrow of the Kamakura shogunate. In exchange for their services as executioners and bodyguards, the demons were free to intermingle with human society. Foreign missionaries in the 16th to 17th centuries were scared off by the creatures they had seen for some time. But a history lesson is not required any further here.

What shocked Tatsuhana more than she not only ran over a demon, she ran over somebody with money. Her parents brought her up in a fancy tradition inn that they owned together. Tatsuhana spent most of her childhood and youth serving tea and food to men dressed in business suits. She could tell an Armani from a brandless knockoff from a mile. And this man, this demon, was definitely wearing an Armani. She could tell by the muscular shape of the shoulder seam that drew attention to the man's physique.

_What was a man like that doing in a place like this?_

Tatushana just stared, embarrassed, and too frightened to speak. She swallowed a lump in her throat, and her mouth became dry as a desert. He was too busy dusting himself off and checking for further tears when an imp sprinted out of an alleyway. His was the shrill voice of panic she heard a few minutes ago. Rather than wearing a modern business suit, the imp which ran towards him wore a traditional kimono and hakama bunched around his tiny ankles.

"Master Sesshomaru! Are you alright?"

"Of course, I'm alright, Jaken. Did you think that a little fall like that is going to cause this one damage?"

Tatsuhana watched the imp fall on his face, literally, and profusely grovel at his feet. He adjusted his cuffs and snapped his head towards her. She gulped when their eyes met. She felt them see into her soul.

He walked with slow deliberation towards her. Tatsuhana stood stock still and could only think of the things she should say. Too bad she couldn't get any of them out of her mouth. He was within arm's length of her when he dug into his suit. He pulled out a small black case. Popping it open, Sesshomaru produced a business card and held it out for her to take. Hesitantly, Tatsuhana reached for it.

She had nothing against demons…per se, but she had nothing to gain from taking his card either. What if it was cursed or charmed? He could find her wherever she went and do unspeakable things to her. There was a cold glint in his eyes, though she couldn't sense any serious maleficence coming from him. She took the card between her fingers. Tatsuhana looked at it but didn't get a chance to read the full name, just barely glanced at the number, before he spoke again.

"Call that number by the end of the day. You'll have to pay for the suit."

Tatsuhana nodded but couldn't help but look down at the hole in the trouser leg. The hole could have easily been fixed, and it was so small that no one would notice unless they got a very close look. Was he really going to make her pay for the whole suit or just the tailoring cost? Either way, it would mean another bill to pay. Tatsuhana groaned interiorly.  
_Just what I needed. More trouble on my plate_ , she thought.

Sesshomaru didn't bother to give her a second glance. He turned his back to her and started to walk away. His imp, Jaken, glared at her, then turned his nose up at her and followed his master. Tatsuhana watched them cross the street and disappear. She put the business card in a safe place. Her bike had been scratched. However, nothing was broken or bent out of shape. She tried not to let the morning's unfortunate turn shape the rest of the day. Managing to get to class on time, Tatsuhana let the professor's droning about the Heian art period make her forget, at least for a few hours, what transpired. If she thought about it for too long, it would only serve to make her a living wreck. The coin at her throat, which she wore day and night, warm to the touch. She thumbed and fiddled with it throughout the day as she tried not to think about the incident. It gave her some level of comfort, but it didn't make it disappear.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"I'm so dead, Maiko. You don't even understand." Tatsuhana stood behind the bar, fixing her friend a drink.

Maiko and Tatsuhana differed in so many ways, it was hard to believe how they managed to stay close-knit. Tatsuhana was the artistic type with a businesswoman's work ethic and nearly pushed herself too far on several occasions. Maiko had been born into a long line of lawyers and civil servants. She was destined for the bar also, though she never took it as seriously as her parents wanted her to. Tatsuhana worked two jobs, trying to keep her and her parents' business afloat while Maiko had some financial privilege. That was why Tatsuhana stood behind the bar and not in the seat next to Maiko.

"So, you scuffed up some douchebag's pant leg? It's not like you broke something of his, right? If worse comes to worst, you could always beg for forgiveness."

"I will not be reduced to groveling."

"Stubborn to the last," Maiko giggled as Tatsuhana handed her the margarita. "Some things never change."

"It wasn't some random douchebag. His name is _Sesshomaru Taisho_. Taisho Incorporated. The big tech and industrial complex. That belongs, in part, to Sesshomaru Taisho. The guy I ran over with my bike!"

The straw Maiko had been sucking on fell out of her mouth as she opened it wide. Her eyes became like saucers.

"That Sesshomaru Taisho?"

Tatsuhana nodded.

"And you ran him over with your bike?"

Tatsuhana nodded again.

"Ooooh, I would not want to be in your shoes right now."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Tatsuhana found a clean rag and started wiping down the bar as she talked. "As if I don't have enough on my plate as it is. I've school, two jobs, and I can't keep a pair of managers at the inn around long enough to keep it running."

"Why don't you just sell the old place? It's causing you nothing but grief."

 _Here we go again._

Tatsuhana sighed. She threw down the rag and pressed her hands hard against the bar. "You know I can't do that, Maiko."

"Hana, please listen to reason. I know it's been really hard on you for the last few months. I know that the place means a lot to you, but keeping it running isn't going to bring them back."

Tatsuhana's teeth worried her lower lip. Her fingers curled up. It seemed just like yesterday that they were still around. She glanced at her home shrine, she knew that they were gone. She didn't need anything or anyone to keep reminding her of that. She put the rag away and grabbed a brown tub.

"I've got some tables to bus. Mimi called in again. Holler when you need a refill." With that blunt dismissal, Tatsuhana pretended that Maiko's words, even if she never intended them to hurt her.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Sesshomaru crossed the street with Jaken following behind at a running pace. Sesshomaru's long legs made it difficult for the kappa to keep up. However, there were things he needed to do today, and picking up his brother happened to be one of them. How he loathed doing it. He left his yellow Lexus down a few blocks at the most respectable-looking garage he could find. It was several blocks away from Inuyasha's last known location, but he wasn't about to park an expensive car out in the middle of the street. Its custom paint job would leave it spotted for miles around. Tabloids would encircle it like vultures if he parked in the street.

As if to make matters worse, there was the issue of the clumsy bicyclist who foolishly ran into him. Modern demons such as himself would never be reduced to bloodlust at the smallest inconvenience. He was above such displays.

Also, he didn't want the blood on his shoes.

For the last few decades, it had been quite for Sesshomaru's half-brother. Up until recently, Inuyasha had been performing well beyond anyone's expectations in the marketing department. To everyone's surprise, including Sesshomaru, for the last ten years, Inuyasha hadn't burned down the corporate building. His staff looked up to him despite his half-breed status, and sales had shot up in the last few sectors. For once in his life, Inuyasha had started to live up to sufficient enough standards where Sesshomaru could stand in the room with him without wanting to lob off his head.

That is until recently…

Inuyasha got into the habit of disappearing when he was most needed. He tended to delegate his work to his second-in-command, Koga. While his father and Sesshomaru did the same now and then, Inuyasha started the habit out of nowhere just when things were looking up. His adventures away from the office were becoming frequent and disruptive. While Koga and his team were capable, it wasn't a good image for the company if the CEO's second son were caught in a comprising position. To save some face, Toga sent out his first-born to collect Inuyasha from whatever brothel or drug den he wandered into.

The tech team managed to get a hold of Inuyasha's cellphone location and texted Sesshomaru the address. He made his way to an ordinary street. Well-paved, clean, and there weren't any bars on the doors or windows, it wasn't as bad as he expected. Tiger demon walking her cub bowed to him as he walked past, though he had no time to even acknowledge the gesture. His eyes were focused on the apartment complex up ahead. Jaken could take no more. Sesshomaru heard him wheezing from far behind as the kappa begged to stand a moment to catch his breath. Sesshomaru walked on without him.

The building was plain. There were a few cracks on its face, but nothing major. He saw that the windowsills were stark white against the rose-colored paint. Sesshomaru walked up and tested the door. No security system or log-in pad to bar his way, Sesshomaru entered. Looking around, he guessed how many apartments there were. On the first floor, there were nine. He didn't concern himself with those. His nose picked up Inuyasha's scent coming from the third floor. The faint traces of musk and perfume grew stronger as Sesshomaru climbed up to that floor. At last, he went to the door at the end of the hallway. Inuyasha's scent lingered strongly behind this door.  
Sesshomaru knocked and waited.

A pair of light feet, too bright and too small to be Inuyasha's clomping gait, sprinted towards the door. Sesshomaru wasn't even that surprised to find a woman answering the door. What surprised him was her face. Waves of black hair looked like a rat's nest on her head. It didn't take him very long to know who made those bite marks on her neck. She rocked on her feet as Sesshomaru looked her dead in the eye. The eyes were a different shape, but the face looked very familiar.

"M-may I help you?" She asked, voice shaking. 

"Inuyasha. Where is he?"

He needn't wait long for his answer.

"I'm comin', ya bastard!"

Indeed, he could've heard his half-brother lumbering from a mile away. Inuyasha appeared, his hair messed up and uncombed and completely shirtless. Probably because his white button-up currently adorned the woman standing in the doorway. Inuyasha gently pulled the woman aside and stood in her place.

"I'm not even gonna ask how you found me," he growled.

"You can thank Shippo in the tech department. Now, retrieve your shirt from your lady friend and meet me outside. There's a meeting at ten, and you're not going to embarrass our father. You've come a long way, half-brother. Don't become a disappointment."

Sesshomaru turned on his heels and headed back down the flight of stairs. He should have known better. It took Toga years to pull Inuyasha out of his depression after what happened to Kikyo. It didn't surprise Sesshomaru in the least that he found new romance in her lookalike.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
At six o'clock in the evening, Sesshomaru got his message.

_Hi, um, this is Tatsuhana Hamasaki, and I, uh, ran you over with my bike. I'm really sorry. I don't have a lot of money to spare, so could we work something out. Please, you can call me back…_

He wrote down the woman's phone number. Just as soon as he put down his pen, he heard a knock at his door. By her scent, he knew who it was.

"Enter."

Sesshomaru rose from his chair behind his large desk. And no, he wasn't compensating for something. He made his way to the windows and pressed the button on the wall. Curtains descended over the windows that encompassed two walls of his corner office. He could smell her perfume and hear the click of her heels as she walked in.

Call him a hypocrite if you want. It wasn't as if Sesshomaru cared much for the opinion of fleas, to begin with. Unlike his brother and even his father, Sesshomaru learned from their mistakes. He was far better at keeping a secret than either of them.

"Why, Sesshomaru? Is it a special occasion?" Kagura's red lips quirked into a smug look.

Not even a smile. She probably liked to think Kagura had Sesshomaru wrapped around her little, manicured finger. He would laugh if he could. He used her just as much as she used him. A bit of tit for tat as they say.

Sesshomaru moved silently back over to his desk. He sat on its edge and curled his finger in a come-hither gesture. Kagura left the pile of manila folders on his coffee table before strutting towards him. Sesshomaru was already loosening his tie while Kagura removed her blazer. When she reached him, she supported her arms on his shoulders and laced her fingers behind his neck. He closed the gap between their mouths. Even just for a while, he wanted to be lost in something other than work.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Daddy!"

Sesshomaru grunted as if in pain and surprise as his eight-year-old ran up and strapped herself to his leg.

It amused Rin to no end to surprise him, even if they both knew he put on a show for her. He tossed his jacket unto the coatrack and left his briefcase on the floor. Rin barely gave him enough time to remove his shoes before stepping into his penthouse overlooking Tokyo. He gathered her up in his arms. Checking his watch, he realized how long past her bedtime it was. The nanny was nowhere in sight.

"Have you been alone by yourself this whole time?"

It took everything within him not to growl. He blew through them so quickly that he barely had time to replace one after the other. He usually left those details with his secretary, but he should have guessed it was Kagura's doing. She always picked the worst-looking or the least qualified candidates just so she could monopolize his time. There were going to be words with her tomorrow morning at the office.

"She went to get something from the store but never came back." Clenching tight as if to never let go, Rin wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Do you know when that was?" Sesshomaru carried her to her room.

Purple was her current favorite color, though she was slowly leaning towards orange nowadays. Hues of purple bedecked the room from floor rugs to the wallpaper. He found every purple knick-nack and stuffed animal he could find and placed it in her room. Sesshomaru had to gently pull her arms away to get her to let go. He placed her down on the bed that had been tossed about, most likely due to Rin's tossing and turning.

"When the big hand was on the eight, and the little hand was on the seven," Rin answered as he tucked her back under the covers.

"Rin, do you know that what she did was a very bad thing? She shouldn't have left you alone like that."

"I know." She pulled the covers up to her nose.

Sesshomaru petted her hair and kissed her forehead.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Rin. You should know that. You did nothing wrong."

"Then why do you look angry? Your eyes are starting to turn red!"

"I'm not angry with you, Rin. Never with you. Just go to sleep. I'll be here in the morning."

Rin pulled the covers down. She nodded her head. No matter how many times he told her that, she didn't seem to believe him. He didn't turn his back as he slowly walked out of the room. His hand deftly turned out the headlight, leaving on the nightlight in the corner to cast a yellow glow inside the room. He left her bedroom door open a crack. As he slowly padded his way back to the living room to make some irate phone calls, his demon ears picked up the sound of someone entering the penthouse.

Sesshomaru crept along to see the nanny quietly lock the door. She carried two plastic bags. One held the unmistakable neck of a wine bottle.

While she fidgeted with the lock, he stopped within three feet of her and smelled the alcohol on her. She successfully turned the lock but never noticed his briefcase or jacket on the coatrack. That really was her mistake. He folded his arms across his chest because that was all he could do to avoid snapping her neck with his bare hands.

When she turned, at last, the little thing yelped. Her face turned ash gray at the sight of him. Foolishly, she tried hiding the wine bottle behind her back, but it was too late. Far too late for her.

"M-Mister Inutaisho…"

"Did you think I wouldn't return before midnight?"

"Well…I…i-it's not what it looks like!"

"It is eleven-thirty. Rin just told me you've been out since forty past seven. Do you realize that I could have you arrested for this? Child endangerment. Public intoxication. I'm sure I could convince the arresting officer to add child abuse to the list of charges."

His former nanny froze to the spot.

"Lucky for you, I'd rather have you out of my home without incident. You will receive no pay for tonight. I do not want you to darken my doorway ever again. Do you understand that much?"

Slowly, as she comprehended the immense mercy, he granted her, she nodded her head. Reaching behind her, the woman fumbled with the lock to his door. He pried it open for her rather than wait for the drunkard to do it herself. She slipped out before he could slam the door on her finger and break it.

He blamed himself, really. Eventually, Sesshomaru got himself into the shower to wash the stench of the day off. He was able to cool off before going to bed. Laying in bed, the only thing that put him to sleep was the endless to-do list he had to accomplish the next day. One of those things involved finding a new nanny by Friday night.

And probably fire Kagura.

Luckily, he knew how to solve one of those problems.


	2. Chapter 2

Sesshomaru had his phone shoved next to his ear as he listened to his father prattle on about investment acquirements. Something had gotten into the Elder Taisho to buy out a publishing company and added it to their assets. Apparently, to Toga Taisho, it made sense to diversify the company by any means necessary. Sesshomaru, however, had his suspicions that the recent purchase of the aforementioned publishing company was at the behest of his stepmother, Izayoi, the book-a-holic.

His eyes looked over the data sheets compiled by the boys downstairs. Everything looked like it was in black. On his desk, a steaming bowl of noodles lay undisturbed. Sesshomaru loathed microwave food, but he could hardly afford to take lunch. He limited Kagura's workload so he could get used to doing things himself. Today was the first time he ate at his own desk. Not even caring that his father was on the line, Sesshomaru slurped his lunch. He was not his brother, however the fact that it seemed to let his father know he was done talking. Toga sighed and let Sesshomaru get to his lunch in peace.

He worked through the whole afternoon. His body was a toned machine; he didn't move to use the bathroom except twice. Kagura had tried to weasel her way into his office only to find the door firmly locked. He considered it the first part of her punishment before he would deal the final blow, which came towards the evening. While she left on her lunch break, Sesshomaru left a note on her desk to see him before she clocked out. He didn't wait long after quitting time to hear Kagura's heels clicking against the floor. She slinked inside with a coy smile on her face. Sesshomaru almost felt a twinge of regret. He thought he might miss that smile.

Kagura wasn't just good in bed; she was good at her job. Meticulous and hard to impress, she had the lucky pick of the draw. His father thought a secretary would be suitable for Sesshomaru. He had no complaints, or very few of them, until now. Sesshomaru watched Kagura swing her hips.  
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Taisho?" She licked her red lips.

It was easy to see that she was expecting something much different. The first couple of buttons, she undid to reveal the top of her breasts. She repainted her lips before entering; the color was brighter to attract Sesshomaru's attention. In a way, it almost worked. He came dangerously close to forgiving her. Sesshomaru's eyes glanced at the photo on his desk, the only framed picture. Rin, his Rin, as a five-year-old. She had a bandage on her nose because she scraped it, jumping off a swing. She was always covered in dirt and bruises back then. An endless ball of energy, he was thankful that Rin redirected her energies into less heart-attack-inducing activities. Looking at her photo, Sesshomaru was reminded of what he intended to do.

"You're fired," he said bluntly.

Kagura's eyes flew open wide. She blinked several times as if imagining things. Her lips parted. She did not respond for a moment and stood there dumbstruck. Sesshomaru rapped his fingers on his desk while he waited for her to return to her senses.

Kagura angrily furrowed her brows. "I'm sorry. What?"

Unmoved by her tone, Sesshomaru answered, "Do you not remember what I've said about repeating myself? You're fired."

"W-what? Why?"

Sesshomaru rose from his chair behind the large desk. He glued his eyes on hers. She flinched under his glare, but she remained in place. Kagura had an ounce of courage left, it seemed.

"I returned home last night to find the nanny absent. Rin was home alone for more than two hours. When the nanny finally returned, she was clearly inebriated and carried her groceries, including a bottle of cheap wine, into my home. Rin is barely eight years old, and that woman deemed it appropriate to go shopping at eight in the evening. You hired her, Kagura."

"You've never complained about the others!" She dared to raise her voice at him as if she was justified in any sense of the word. What had she done to deserve to plead innocence?

In the old days, Sesshomaru would not only be permitted to lop off her head, but he would also be obliged to for his honor's sake. Sadly, such bloody pastimes were out of fashion. Plus, he really liked his shoes to be free from her stinking blood. He took a deep breath and released it slowly. He would not lose control because of this idiot woman.

"In fact, I have, but I was silent for the most part because they were merely incompetent. This latest model you deemed worthy belongs to a different category of atrocious behavior. I wonder wherever you found her."

Kagura sneered. "It's not my job to find babysitters for your little brat."

"That brat is my daughter. Have a care how you speak," Sesshomaru growled.

Kagura refused to back down. She had more spine than he thought. Most would go cower in the corner. Not Kagura. She remained rooted to the spot, and she might just stay there until he forcibly removed her himself. She crossed her arms over her chest and started tapping her foot.

"I'm still the best secretary you've ever had. Are you seriously considering to replace me? Me? You couldn't function without me!"

Sesshomaru sighed. He moved around the desk and walked to her. Towering over her, Sesshomaru breathed in her scent one last time. It wasn't her, so much that he was going to miss. He was going to miss all of their stress-relief sessions in his office. No matter. Easy come, easy go.

"I functioned well before you, and I will function well enough after you leave. You have failed to show respect to the full duties assigned to you. If I cannot expect you to be able to find proper care for my child, how am I to trust you with business or my personal affairs? You've been undermining Rin's care by hiring incompetent nannies. To be frank, some of them weren't even nice to look at. One would suspect that you were trying to make yourself look better by comparison. It's rather distasteful, actually." He watched Kagura's jaw hit the floor.

He sauntered back behind his desk. Kagura still stood there.

"By the time I leave this office, I want to see that desk out front cleared out. If you're not gone, I will call security. Is that understood?"

Kagura said nothing in reply. Her face scrunched up in a mask of rage and hatred. She spun on her heels before storming out. Sesshomaru didn't have enough time to order her not to slam his door, which she did anyway. His super hearing let him hear her through the thick walls and through the door. She was stuffing things into her purse and dumping whatever she no longer cared for into the waste bin. It took her less than twenty minutes to clear everything out. He heard her huff and puff, swearing under her breath like she forgot his hearing was superior. He heard her swear up a storm, cursing him on the way out. Her feet, even in those delicate high heels, stomped as she crossed the floor towards the elevator. It pinged, letting Sesshomaru know Kagura had boarded and was on her way down.

Alone, at last, Sesshomaru sank into his chair. He massaged his temples upon the oncoming migraine. The veins in his forehead began to throb. Now he had to hire a new nanny and a new secretary. Of course, it wouldn't have to come to this if Kagura had done her job right in the first place and kept everything professional. This mess was mostly her doing. Sesshomaru couldn't help but take some of the blame. He had been the one who trusted Kagura with finding a nanny knowing full well she was a jealous woman and one who didn't care if Rin was left by herself for hours on end. He ripped the band-aid off. It was over; he could move on.

The smell of Kagura lingered, though. Just how long was it going to be before her scent disappeared for good? Sesshomaru growled. He doubted a simple cleaning would do the trick. At the moment, he needed something to distract him from the idea of chasing after Kagura and rehire her. That would be a worse mistake than the previous ones he'd made with her. No. He should do something to stop thinking about her.  
Sesshomaru picked up his phone. It was late in the day, but he could at least leave a message. He sneered as he waited for the other line to pick up. Oh, how he hated the phone tag game. However, by some miracle, the woman picked up.

"Hello? Who's this?"

"This is Sesshomaru Taisho. I believe you ran me over with your bike yesterday?"

There was silence. Sesshomaru could almost imagine the woman on the other end, turning white as a sheet.

"Oh. Um, hello. What, uh, what can I do for you?"

"Do you know how to get to the Taisho Building?"

She paused. "I can certainly find out."

"Good," said he. "Arrive here at three o'clock. Dress accordingly."

"Well, three is going to cut it very close for me, but I'll try."

"Don't simply try, MissHamasaki." With that, he hung up.

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"Um, okay?" Tatsuhana grunted as she hung up her phone.

She pulled off to the side of the street to answer the call. She expected it to be Sesshomaru and expected him to act just as he did when she first met him. He was rude and hard to read. Whatever did he mean by 'dress appropriately.' He mentioned the Taisho Building, so he could only mean business proper. Unfortunately, she left her designer pantsuit in her other closet. In truth, she stopped trying to find clothes that would fit her. Well, as long as nothing happened to her work uniform, it would have to do the trick.

And if he didn't like it, tough noodles.

Tatsuhana peddled the rest of her way home. Streetlamps flickered on as she made it back. Orange skies gave way to deep velvet by the time she ran up the stairs to her apartment. She flipped the lights on, dumped her bag and shoes by the door, and collapsed on the sofa. Tatsuhana landed face-first into a cushion and screamed.

Her feet barked in protest. All her limbs were screaming at her. Her blood throbbed in her skull, and her ears were ringing. She groaned into the cushion. Eventually, Tatsuhana turned her head so she would suffocate. Her apartment had no T.V. in which she could spend a couple hours turning her brain into mush. One, she couldn't afford it even if she wanted one. Two, she had been raised without a television. The children in her grade school, all the way to high school, made fun of her for this fact. Tatsuhana didn't watch anime that much, except when she had a computer. She sold hers last week to make a payment on her student loans.

She was too tired to read or draw, so she lay there in silence. Tatsuhana was too tired to get up and drag her body to bed.

When she woke up in the morning, she found a pencil in her hand, and a sketchbook opened in her lap. Groaning awake, Tatsuhana rubbed her eyes. She smeared graphite on her cheek. Her neck and shoulders were sore. Most likely from sitting up at a wrong angle all night. By the morning light, she could see what she'd been doing in her sleep.

Some people talked when they dreamed; others were sleep-walkers. Tatsuhana was different. Just, this might as well be her life, you know? Tatsuhana drew in her sleep. It didn't happen often, but when it did, she even surprised herself. One would think that the drawings of a sleep-drawer would be nothing more than a bunch of squiggly lines or a Picasso-looking nightmare. As far as she knew, Tatsuhana was the only case of a person who drew in their sleep. There was nothing she could compare to. That still didn't explain how she ended up with this.

Her sketchbook was pried open in her lap. Many of the lines were smeared by her hand, though the image was otherwise untainted. Tatsuhana's midnight specialties were typically fantasy work. She wondered what she had been dreaming about that inspired this piece of work.

Most of the page was taken up by the image of a fierce dragon. Its jaws were opened wide to swallow the viewer. Serpentine tendrils waved from his nostrils as its giant claws reached out to grab prey. Amid the clouds, it soared. Upon its back, a woman, practically naked, held a leash in her hand and a vase in the other. Tatsuhana then noticed where the leash lead. The woman had tethered the dragon by its mouth. A bit and bridle controlled the dragon and was steered by the delicate female standing on its scaly back. She wore a smile, calm and coy. Relaxed, even. Tatsuhana fixed the lines that had been smeared and put it away for now.

She climbed into the shower without looking at the time. By the time she finished, Tatsuhana didn't think to panic until she saw the digital clock on her stove. She had a towel draped over her head as she dried her damp hair. Pulling it away for a moment, Tatsuhana finally looked and nearly jumped out of her skin.

Rushing back to her room, Tatsuhana grabbed a better pair of pants than sweatpants and a plain black button-up. She pulled her hair into a messy bun while trying to pull herself together. At the door, she shoved her feet into some shoes without caring what they looked like. As long as they weren't muddy or scuffed too bad, she couldn't care less. Tatsuhana skipped more than just one or two steps as she clamored down the stairs to the ground level. She yanked the locks away from her bike after she hurriedly unlocked them. While waiting at a crosswalk, Tatushana typed in the address into her phone's GPS. Her heart raced. It beat against her ribcage.

She got there with sweat dripping into her eyeballs. She locked her bike about a block behind and ran through the entrance. Her legs were able to carry her to the front desk, where she nearly collapsed from over-exertion. The startled secretary let Tatsuhana catch her breath before asking if she could help.

"I…I have an appointment with Mr. Taisho. Sesshomaru…Taisho. Three o'clock."

"Alright, give me one moment." She picked up the phone and started dialing the phone next to her.

Tatsuhana panted while she waited, and eventually, her body returned to normal. The secretary put away the telephone and gestured towards the elevator.

"Mr. Taisho has been expecting you. Take that elevator all the way up to the top. His office is the only one."

"Thank you," said Tatsuhana.

"Good luck…"

Tatsuhana didn't know what to make of the secretary's tone as she made her way over to the elevator. She stared directly into the reflective surface of the elevator door. It paced slowly upwards. Her stomach started to plunge as she thought about just how high she was going. She did her best not to think about what would happen if that were pulling her up to the very top would suddenly snap. Tatsuhana tapped her foot all the way to the top.

She jumped a little when the doors suddenly opened. Looking at the lights above the door, she realized that she had made it. Taking a deep breath, Tatsuhana exited. It took her only a few steps to see that there wasn't a secretary or personal assistant sitting at the desk outside a pair of black-painted double doors. She knocked. A voice came from within answered.

"Enter."

Tatsuhana vaguely remembered that voice. She swallowed hard and took hold of the chrome doorknob. Opening the door, Tatsuhana squinted. Half of the walls in the room were glass windows from which the afternoon sun came pouring in. She stepped uneasily over the threshold, and once her eyes were accustomed to so much light, she found him.

Sesshomaru had been hunching over a mountain of paperwork on his desk. His head shot up at once at her entrance. His gaze trailed up and down, but not in a sexual way. Tatsuhana felt eyes looking at her like a slab of meat before, and the feeling was unpleasant. But Sesshomaru seemed less interested in any of her feminine attributes. Instead, she felt the deadly glare of judgment trained directly on her. She knew how that felt too.

"I thought I told you to dress professionally."

"I don't exactly have anything in my wardrobe right now, and I didn't have time in between my classes and my bar job to go shopping. This was the only thing I could that was remotely appropriate."

"Is that why your shoes don't match?" Sesshomaru gestured with his pen to the floor towards her feet.

Tatsuhana looked down. Her face turned bright red. On her left foot was a black work shoe. She could still see the dried food stains. On her right foot, she wore a brown lace-up Oxford. Both of the shoes were flat, and in her desperate, frantic rush, she didn't notice the difference in the soles.

"I was in a hurry!" Tatsuhana looked at her hand next. She still had graphite smudges because she didn't even wash her hands before booking it.

"You would have been ten minutes late. I'll overlook it this time," said Sesshomaru. He pulled out a black planner. Flipping it open, he found the pages he was looking for. His eyes scanned them quickly and then looked up. "Do you have plans this Friday?"

Plans? What…what is he talking about? And on a Friday night too? Tatsuhana hesitated to answer. What exactly was this payment plan going to entail?

"Um, I have my second job that day. I work Friday through Mon—"

"I need you to take Friday off. From five-thirty to around midnight. Possibly later."

"I don't think you understand, I can't get Friday off on short notice. If you'd ask me yesterday, I might have pulled something off, but I can't do that. I'm sorry, but I just can't take off on a day when I'm needed."

"Then I suggest you come up with an excuse for your managers. I don't care if you have to lie."

Tatsuhana huffed. He wasn't going to step down, was he?

"You don't understand," Tatsuhana took a deep breath and released it quickly. She couldn't afford to get angry now. "I am the manager. I run my family's inn. I can't just take off whenever I feel like it."  
Sesshomaru's icy brow shot up. He looked her up and down again. Tatsuhana tried not to sneer at him for it.

"You're the manager…of an operating business?" He asked incredulously.

"I may not look it right now, but I've been looking after my parents' inn for the last six months, and I'm trying to keep it from going under. There isn't a manager I can trust yet, so I have to be there to make sure everything goes well. I can't just tell the staff that I need Friday off a couple days beforehand."

"You've clearly never been in a management position before." Sesshomaru stared at her mismatching shoes. "That much is certain."

"Just tell me how much it'll cost to fix your suit, and I'll repay it," said Tatsuhana.

She was practically lying through her teeth. From what she could already tell from Sesshomaru's character, he was going to cost her an arm and a leg. She might as well do as he said and call in sick. Whatever he wanted from her Friday night might have been better than the price he was going to ask for.

"A one of a kind Giorgio Armani suit? Do you know that the tear you made has made those trousers unwearable? If it had been a tear near the seam, there was something my tailor could have fixed, but no. It was a torn at the knee. Are you saying you can afford a new pair of Armani trousers worth over two-hundred thousand yen?"

He watched Tatsuhana's jaw hit the floor.

"Who buys pants for two-hundred thousand yen? Do you know how many pairs of jeans I could buy with that money?"

"Are you going to give up your Friday evening, or should I ask for the two-hundred thousand yen now?"

Tatsuhana groaned. "Do I even have a choice?"

Of course, she didn't. She only hoped that Sesshomaru's request wasn't anything weird.

Sesshomaru said nothing in response. Instead, he slapped—literally slapped—a pad of sticky notes unto his desk. He yanked up a pen and started scribbling on the first sheet. Finishing, he removed the paper and held it out for her to take. Tatsuhana crept up to his next and took the note from him.

"Be at that address at five o'clock. Sharp. Do not be late this time."

"Aye, aye, sir." Tatsuhana saluted him as she started out the door.

She didn't bother trying to be polite when taking her to leave. Tatsuhana slammed the door home, though not as loud as she wanted to make it. She refrained from slamming it too hard to avoid further judgment or reprimand. The less time she spent within his presence, the better.  
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Kagura stomped her foot hard into the floor of her driver's side seat. She parked outside her family's house that she shared with her relatives, namely her cousin Naraku. She hated Sesshomaru, but she hated her older cousin even more. It was his fault she had gotten involved in this harebrained scheme in the first place. To think she could have been in Maui or Honolulu or even Okinawa at this moment. She spent the last three years of her life, sucking up to the Taisho family just to earn a spot as a secretary to the eldest son. Everything had gone according to plan, except Naraku butted in.

There was no way she was going to tell Sesshomaru Taisho that her cousin had been arranging the babysitters and nannies in her stead. Sesshomaru would have had her head. She had never been so humiliated in her life.

Kagura stepped out of her car, slamming the door home. In her heels, she stomped all the way to the front door. The small manor house was empty of people. She could hear music blaring from upstairs. She knew exactly where it was coming from.

Kagura made her way up the stairs and followed the sound. She didn't bother to knock on his office door. Naraku was busy at his computer, no doubt typing codes or computer viruses to use against his enemies. She never cared for his line of work, though she never complained when it could afford places to live such as these. She stormed her way over to the stereo blaring Mozart and flipped it off. Naraku was so enthralled by his work, he didn't notice the silence that followed immediately after.

"Naraku!" Kagura shouted.

"I'm right here. There's no reason to raise your voice, dear cousin."

"I was fired today! Did you know that?"

"Why, of course. I figured it was only a matter of time. What was it this time? Did he finally get bored of you?"

Kagura's cheeks flamed red. "I was fired because he didn't like the nannies someone hired for him. You told me it would help your little plans against Toga Taisho and his company. Now, look what you've done! I've slaved for three years at that wretched place because of your stupid plans, and I've been fired. Where does that leave us?"

Naraku finally bothered to look away from his computer screen. Dark shadows hung under his eyes. Kagura shivered; sometimes, her cousin gave her a fright. He was a pale, lanky man with wild black hair and red eyes. There were few human-passing demons; he was one of them. Only because his mother was human. Naraku had the luck of inheriting more of his mother's good looks than his fathers.

"Exactly where we need to be. If you turned in your two weeks, it would have looked suspicious. Eventually, they would have traced you back to me, and I can't have that. Yet."

"I honestly think that your plans are a little too convoluted, you know? It's like you're putting random puzzle pieces together in the hopes they'll fit."

"Luckily, I don't require you to do a lot of thinking," Naraku chuckled.

"I've already been humiliated enough for one day, I don't need any more from you!"

Kagura turned her back to Naraku. Her first mistake.

Naraku crossed the floor before she got far. His hand wrapped around her wrist and held tight. His long fingers clenched around her wrist, threatening to snap the bones. He spun Kagura back around to face him. His arm snaked around her waist, and he pressed her close. A slimy tentacle reached out from underneath him, from where Kagura didn't want to know. Whatever thing that had mated with his mother and begot him must have been a nasty creature straight from the womb of Izanami. The tentacle wrapped around her throat and squeezed.

"You don't turn your back on me. I am understood?"

The slimy appendage squeezed her throat. Kagura barely wheezed. Naraku released just enough to let her answer.

"Y-yes…"

"Good," he chuckled.

Naraku dropped her onto the floor. Unable to land on her feet, Kagura picked herself up from the floor. Naraku towered over her as his red eyes narrowed in the same manner as a wolf eyeing its prey. Years of abuse made this just another notch on her belt. If he wasn't careful, Kagura would grow immune to his terror tactics. Still, she repressed the shudder that threatened to run through her.

"Go clean yourself up. We have dinner plans tonight." Naraku walked away and returned to his desk.

"With who?"


	3. Chapter 3

Tatsuhana tried not to let her jaw hang open too wide. She stood at the base of Tokyo's tallest apartment complex. A skyscraper that competed with all the world. She had to crane her neck back just to glance at where the tower ended. The very top was clouded by smog. Straightening up, Tatsuhana walked up to the doorman and asked for Mr. Taisho. Apparently, Sesshomaru Taisho had been expecting her. The doorman opened the door and waved her inside the main lobby. For a moment, she wasn't sure if she entered a fancy hotel or an apartment building. Spotting the elevator, Tatsuhana climbed inside and squeezed herself into the furthest corner. She rode the elevator up with people she never imagined sharing an elevator with. There were a couple of giggling high school girls who wore too much make-up and accessories to be considered following the dress codes. The only reason why Tatsuhana noticed them in the first place was because they kept glancing at her and laughed, probably at her clothes. Her jeans were covered in paint, and her shirt, also splattered with paint, hung off one shoulder. Her hair was tied into a messy bun and still had a pencil in her hair. Beads of sweat dribbled down the side of her face, from peddling all the way from the university to Sesshomaru Taisho's fancy apartment complex.

She heard more rude stares as others climbed in for the ride. An obese woman in a purple track and over-sized cat-eye sunglasses sniffed at her. The Pomeranian she carried in her arms kept growling at Tatsuhana even though she didn't leave her corner. Some businessmen climbed aboard. Tatsuhana shifted on her feet to accommodate them, but they still seemed keen on pressing close to her. They were both of similar age to her. However, they had this snooty look in their eyes like they were better than her. They both wore expensive suits, not as valuable as Sesshomaru's, but they dressed better than her in her wildest dreams. One of them wore a flashy watch. It would be wrong to wish that the fellow who liked to stand a little too close to her in the elevator got pickpocketed.

Her parents always taught her to be kind. Wishing something terrible to happen to someone, even someone you don't like, was untoward. It attracted only lousy karma in your direction. However, whatever was the purpose of being friendly and polite all the time when everyone stepped on you. She sneered but said nothing as she felt one of their hands skim along her thigh. She could have shouted or reprimanded them. She should have. On the other hand, what would that get her?

_More trouble, that's what._

Tatsuhana finally reached her floor, the penthouse suite. She began to wonder if Sesshomaru had a thing for lording his position over others or if he just liked his modern ivory towers. There was only one penthouse suit waiting for her. She walked across the hall and knocked. A pitter-patter of feet echoed behind it. The door wooshed open.

Instead of the spot where she expected Sesshomaru to be, there was empty space. Only by looking down did Tatsuhana find a much smaller person in his place. A little girl, no more than eight, stood in the doorway. For all intents and purposes, the girl was entirely human. No ears. No tail. No features that would indicate that she had a demonic origin in her bloodline. Her hair was black, and dark brown eyes were unfamiliar.

"Hey…kid. I'm looking for—"

"Rin, what have I said about opening the door?"

Tatsuhana stood there, awkwardly. Sesshomaru slowly came into view. He gently pulled Rin aside and away from the door before glancing at up and down at Tatsuhana. His brow arched at her messy clothes. He huffed.

"It'll do for now. Come in," he ordered.

Tatsuhana took her shoes off in the doorway and laid them beside it. The little girl Rin pounced onto the couch. Grabbing a pillow, she used it as a shield to cover her face while keeping her eyes open to spy on Tatsuhana. Tatsuhana could feel the little girl watching her every move. It was hard to take in the luxurious setting as a child keeps staring at you. Sesshomaru was dressed to the nines in a black suit and dress shirt, no tie though. A pair of freshly polished shoes were in one hand while he carried his coat in the other. He scribbled a note on a piece of paper and left it on the table.

"There is my cell phone, the phone number of where I will be, and emergency contact information. Rin is allergic to peanuts and is to be bathed one hour before bed. I do not want to see her out of bed by the time I get home, understood?"

"Yes…"

"You're welcome to anything in the fridge except for the wine. If you touch it, I'll purchase your family's inn out from under you."

"You can't threaten me like that even if I did want your over-priced grape juice," Tatsuhana retorted.

Tatsuhana walked him to the doorway, hoping at least to get something more than a litany of orders to follow.

"This…this is what you hired me for? You needed a babysitter?"

Sesshomaru fixed his shoes on his feet and put on his coat, then adjusted his watch. He gave her a cold glance. "What did you think I was hiring you for?" He poked his head around the corner. Rin was still seated on the couch. "Behave for Miss Hamasaki."

Turning once more to Tatsuhana, "I should be back by midnight. If not, you're free to sleep on the couch after Rin is asleep." He shut the door behind him.

Tatsuhana was too baffled to say another word. If all he wanted to be a babysitter, he could have just said so in the first place. At least prepare her for the task at hand. Tatsuhana had no business with children. She didn't hate them, but she didn't have much experience with them either. She crossed the room back over to the dining table, scanning through the names and numbers Sesshomaru listed. Putting it back on the table, she turned to Rin. She could feel those eyes boring a hole into the back of her skull.

Slowly, Tatsuhana moved around the giant leather couch (which would have taken up all the space in her apartment) to take a seat on the opposite end. If only Rin was just a couple years older, Tatsuhana might have been able to make a less awkward introduction. She didn't know how to talk to an eight-year-old.

"I'm Tatsuhana Hamasaki. It's nice to meet you, Rin," she said.

Rin merely looked over the edge of the pillow. She hadn't moved since Tatsuhana entered the penthouse. A few seconds ticked by on the clock set on the mantle. Tatsuhana rapped her fingers on her thighs. Shifting her backpack off her shoulders, Tatsuhana dug out a couple of sketchbooks and a bag of pencils.

"Look, I'm going, to be honest with you. I don't know how to talk to kids. I'm an art student. So, if you'd like to, you can use some pages in this sketchbook I've got." She held it out towards Rin, who glanced from the pad to Tatsuhana. When the child refused to speak, she gave up and left on the coffee table. "Well, it's there if you get bored. I need to work on an assignment for a little bit, then I'll get dinner started. Sound okay?"

Rin nodded. At least it was something.

Tatsuhana glanced away from her work every now then only to find Rin in the same spot. She stretched her legs, probably because she had been sitting on them for the past hour. She watched Tatsuhana sketch for a couple of hours before she put everything away and started for the kitchen. Rin padded softly behind her.

"Would you like to help with dinner?"

Puzzled, Rin looked up at her with head slightly tilted.

"Nobody lets me in the kitchen except my daddy, but even then, he tells me not to get to close."

Tatsuhana found it difficult not to balk at her. This was the first sentence Rin had said all night since she arrived. Tatsuhana rummaged through the drawers of napkins and tablecloths, eventually finding a pair of aprons. She tied hers on before helping Rin. It wasn't anything spectacular, just some steam-fried vegetables and rice. Tatsuhana held Rin's hands as she helped her learn how to chop vegetables. She had to treat Rin's delicate little fingers like china. If she owed over two-hundred thousand yen for a pair of pants, she didn't want to know what it would cost her if Rin split her finger open. Or worse, chop it off completely. She didn't let the anxiety fill her and paid attention to Rin.

Rin, though quiet, was very sharp for her age. Did she get that cleverness from Sesshomaru or her mother who'd been left noticeably out of the picture? Tatsuhana was taught to be prudent and avoid gossip, so she didn't pry into Rin's life. Considering she'd likely tell her father anything Tatsuhana said or did, asking about sensitive information was very unwise. She kept her mouth shut and focused on the task at hand.  
They ate the dining table. While Tatsuhana was cleaning up after them, she found Rin still seated there but drawing away at the sketchpad. Tatsuhana left the girl undisturbed until bath time. Rin was surprisingly obedient for an eight-year-old. As soon as she turned to leave the room, Rin's hand shot out and grabbed her pinky finger. Rin had the covers pulled up to her mouth. Despite this, Tatsuhana could still hear her.

"Could, could, um, you stay here until I fall asleep. I don't like being left alone…especially in the dark."

Tatsuhana pulled away for a moment to grab a chair. She set it next to the bed and within reach of the bedside lamp. The dimmed city lights from below somehow filtered through the window after she turned off the lamp. She allowed Rin to hold unto her hand until she heard slow, deep breathing. Tatsuhana carefully pulled her hand out of Rin's grip. She slipped out of the child's bedroom.

Sesshomaru arrived precisely at midnight. Tatsuhana packed up her things and started heading for the door.

"How was she?" Sesshomaru asked.

Tatsuhana wasn't sure how to answer. Rin's quiet nature almost disturbed her, and she was awfully obedient for a girl her age, but there wasn't anything terrible. It wasn't her business to discuss Rin's mental health unless absolutely necessary.

"She was perfect. Everything was on schedule. She should be fast asleep by now."

"Good," said Sesshomaru.

"I'll be heading out now…" Tatsuhana had her hand on the doorknob. One turn was all that separated her and freedom.

"What are your plans for next Friday?" She heard him call after her.

Tatsuhana retracted her foot from the doorway. She spun to face him. Shifting her backpack, she thought she was making it clear she'd rather go home. "Working. As usual. At my family's inn. I thought I already explained it to you?"

"Can you get next Friday off as well?"

"I don't know. I could be needed," Tatsuhana answered.

"Let me know. I'll be in touch. Goodnight."

Tatsuhana left without saying goodbye.  
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"Mrs. Hamasaki!"

Tatsuhana smoothed the front of her kimono. She wore a simple yet elegant one with a lily design. She stepped out of her office and entered the hallway to answer the call.

"I'm right here. What is it?"

"Choko is entertaining guests in the Tigerlily Room, but she's been double booked in the Chrysanthemum Room. They're waiting for music, and there's just a koto!" Said one of the serving girls.

"We managed to run out of rice in the kitchen! And the guests in the Rose Room keeping asking for more!" Said another.

"Someone is looking to book the Indigo Room for three weeks in advance. They've been waiting fifteen minutes on the phone!"

Tatsuhana took a deep breath. It was a little wonder her mother developed wrinkles at an early age. Panicking would solve nothing. Unfortunately, many of the female staff were high strung, young ladies. They were all hard-working and courteous, but sometimes they got themselves into such tizzies; it was hard for Tatsuhana to take them seriously.

"Everyone calm down. We'll handle everything one problem at a time. Tell the guests in the Chrysanthemum Room that I'll join them as soon as I can. I'll take Choko's place. Later, we're going to look at how she got double-booked for tonight. In the meantime, offer them an extra round of sake while they wait."

The first girl nodded and scurried off.

"Ami, you and Taiga run to the supermarket down the street. Buy as much rice as you can eat. Use my card. If the managers have questions, tell them to call me." Tatsuhana fetched her wallet and handed it over.  
The second fled to find her co-worker.

"Hand the call over to Hanzo. He has a copy of the register and calendar; he'll double-check mine. I'll leave the door open for him. Tell him not to leave this customer unhappy. The Indigo Room is one of our top sellers. Don't lose this booking."

The high-spirited third girl turned on her heels and ran as elegantly as she could.

Tatsuhana walked calmly to the Chrysanthemum Room. Her family's inn was less of an inn or motel, though they still had over-night stays and bed-and-breakfast options. There was a spa in the back for tourists or businessmen looking to get away from the everyday office. Mainly, the family inn earned income through hosting parties, business meetings, and reunions in one of their unique banquet halls. It used to be that those rooms housed noblemen and merchants back in the old days. Now, they hosted parties. The Chrysanthemum Room was the second favorite because of its warm, spirited décor. Each room was named after a flower, and the spirit of that flower was infused into that room.

She knocked on the shoji screen. Tatsuhana put on a smile as a server opened the door. Not too bright, not too innocuous. She bowed from the waist.

"Please, forgive the inconvenience, sirs. There's been a mistake with our bookings. It seems that our koto player has already been placed in another suit. If you allowed me to substitute, it would be an honor to entertain you for the evening."

She waited for an answer. There was an empty alcove, save for a lonely koto. The pale man who sat at the head of the table spoke. His voice sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine.

"Please, carry on," said he.

Tatsuhana straightened. She tried not to stare at the fact that the Chrysanthemum Room had been booked by demons. Only two appeared to be the most human-looking creatures. If you ignored their beady red eyes. She bowed her head slightly and began to move towards the alcove. With every step, she could feel eyes on her. Tatsuhana perfected the art of not caring what others thought of her. She reached it without tripping or skipping a beat. In truth, her heart started to beat against its cage. Tatsuhana fought hard to keep her breath steady as to avoid detection. She affixed the koto picks to her fingers. With a nod from the gentleman who spoke, Tatsuhana began to play.

There was no need for her to look up at a music sheet. She had memorized most of the song list her mother thought appropriate to be performed in the inn. Tatsuhana rarely deviated, though she'd impressed several groups of young, modern working men and women with her renditions of American pop songs. Considering the faces of her audience, it was wise to stick to classics. She played while the guests talked amongst themselves. Tatsuhana stayed there until whatever business they had was concluded. A couple left meager tips before her instrument. She glanced at the one who took his time leaving, the dark-haired and red-eyed individual. Their eyes made contact for just a moment before Tatsuhana quickly down and away. She heard him chuckle as she feigned submission.

It was a sigh of relief when they were all gone. Tatsuhana helped the staff clean up some of the rooms and meandered back to her office. On the way there, Mr. Hanzo came running down the hall.

"Mrs. Hamasaki, about the Indigo Room…"

"Hanzo," Tatsuhana gently rebuked, "After hours, you're free to call me Miss or Tatsuhana. And yes? What about the Indigo Room?"

"The guest who wants to book it…" Mr. Hanzo huffed in between breaths. "He's the head of Taisho Incorporated. Toga Taisho wants to book a room for a business meeting here. What should we do?"

Tatsuhana's heart sank as well as her stomach. Dealing with one Taisho in her life was bad enough. Still, from what she heard of Sesshomaru's father, it was a wonder how the two were father and son at all. If rumors were true, Toga Taisho was the more appealing character, being the first demon to have wed a human and fought so hard to keep her alive. According to other rumors, Toga Taisho stole a wish from the mysterious Shikon Jewel to grant his human wife a lifespan that matched his own. How he managed to have a cold son like Sesshomaru, the 'Killing Perfection,' the world may never know.

The real question was left unanswered. Why would the stupidly rich Toga Taisho, who had his own pick of elegant hotels, manor houses, and mansions to choose from, he picked this little old place? Hamasaki had its pleasures, but why would he stoop so low as to invite others here?

Tatsuhana shook her head. No! Now was not the time for self-doubt. If Hamasaki was going to get on the map, they were going to need a big profile case like Toga Taisho investing his money in their inn.

"Tell everyone that we're having a meeting Monday morning. Tell any Sunday over-night guests that there's an emergency staff meeting and send apologies. Set up a buffet to make up for it. We're going to go about this carefully, Hanzo. There is no need to panic, understand?"

"Yes, Mis—Tatsuhana." Hanzo dipped his balding head in a bow. Tatsuhana scurried off somewhere, likely to inform the rest of the staff about the meeting.

She slunk back into her office, the headache positively throbbing in her temples now. Sitting down in a modern chair, she threw open the planner sitting on her desk. She flipped to the date in question and winced. Would three weeks be enough to get everything and everyone ready? Three weeks was pretty standard for a booking. Still, even she had her doubts about being up to the task of impressing billionaire Toga Taisho. A small tear threatened to wet her eye. Tatsuhana brushed it away. She turned to look at the side-by-side pictures of her parents. White ribbons still adorned their glossy black frames as the photograph portraits leaned against the wall. A small altar was set up in what used to be her father's office. Tatsuhana equipped it with more modern furniture, but there was little else she changed. There were a lot of things she could not change.

Looking at their pictures, Tatsuhana could almost hear them.

 _Don't look so downcast, Tatsuhana._ Her mother would say. 

_You are strong, you know that, don't you?_ Father would chide.

Six months felt more like yesterday. The pain of their loss still filled her, heart, and soul. There was hardly a day that went by when she didn't think about them.  
Tatsuhana locked the door. She walked behind the changing screen, standing over in the corner and started to disrobe. She was barely able to free herself from the outer layers when her cell phone rang. It was so loud, she could hear through her bag she left beneath the desk. Without worrying about someone walking in on her, Tatsuhana sprinted across the room in just her kimono's delicate underpinning _nagajuban_ , which was of shockingly thin cotton. Nothing else was clean, so she didn't have much else choice but to wear this one beneath her more formal-looking _furisode _.  
In her rush to find her phone in time, Tatsuhana dumped her purse's contents unto the desk. She picked it up before it rang a final time.__

__"Hello?"_ _

__"What do you have scheduled for next week?"  
Sesshomaru Taisho. The very last person she needed to hear from._ _

__"I haven't gotten my schedule yet from the bar, and I have a staff meeting at the inn. I have classes throughout the week in the morning and early afternoon. Beyond that, I can't tell you with any certainty. Why?"  
What do you mean why? I thought we already discussed our payment plan. Or did you think that was a one-time deal?_ _

__Tatsuhana bit her tongue. "Look, I don't know if I'm able to watch her again. I have a life of my own working two jobs and going to art school. Unless you can solve one of those problems, I, unfortunately, cannot be at your beck and call."_ _

__You could always drop out._ _

__"I'm not rearranging my life to be more convenient for you," she answered._ _

__Her head truly throbbed now. She wanted him to shut up more than anything. She didn't care if she sounded snotty. Tatsuhana was honestly too tired to care at this point._ _

__"Can you come by Friday night again?"_ _

__"I don't know."  
Saturday, then?_ _

__"Ugh, I have a booking that evening. It's an old customer, but they are very picky. They won't behave unless I'm there to watch them like a hawk."_ _

__"You let such people share their patronage with you?" She heard the disdain in his voice._ _

__"I'll put up with almost anything if the man has deep enough pockets. Anything except prostituting myself or my female staff that is."_ _

__"At least you have some standards," Sesshomaru chuckled._ _

__"Can I call you back when I get a hold of my schedule? That'll make things easier for you, wouldn't it?"_ _

__"Don't dally." The smug bastard hung up on her._ _

__To be fair, she did walk out of his apartment without even saying goodnight. Fair is fair. Emotionally wasted, Tatsuhana couldn't withstand biking her way to her apartment. She looked at the clock; it was a little past midnight. Yup, that sealed it. She wasn't going to bike home after dark. Instead, Tatsuhana wandered to her old room that her parents and the staff kept clean whenever she visited. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.  
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__Sesshomaru slipped his cell back into his jacket pocket as he stepped off the elevator. He opened the door to his penthouse suite. All seemed too quiet and comfortable for his liking. Of course, that might have been more because his step-mother cradled Rin in her arms._ _

__"Step-mother."_ _

__She pressed her finger to her lips. Rin was curled up in her arms like a napping kitten. She stirred slightly. Izayoi easily took her up and stood from the couch. She crossed the living room to meet him and passed his child unto him._ _

__"She was an angel," Izayoi whispered._ _

__"Thank you. I'll take it from here." He brushed past his step-mother without bothering to make eye contact._ _

__His ire for the woman had cooled after the last century and a half. His disdain for humans, likewise, lessened. Izayoi presumed she could easily sway his heart in her favor just as quickly as she did with his father. It annoyed him and left a coal of hate still burning inside him for the woman. She was like so many other women he had almost been trapped by. Clever, beautiful, wily like a fox. He could see her kind from miles away. With women like her, it made little difference whether they were human or a demon. They were all the same._ _

__Sesshomaru ducked quietly as possible into Rin's bedroom. She was already in her pajamas. He slipped her under the covers but hesitated to turn on her nightlight. Raised by a demon and surrounded by them, Rin should have put her silly fear of the dark behind her. No matter that she was eight in human years, she had less to worry about in the shadows than in society at large. Sesshomaru, the precise demon that he was, was somehow hindered by the thought of showing her just how cruel the world could be. Making her sleep without her nightlight would begin to show her that._ _

__On the other hand, Rin's whimpering would no doubt wake him up in the middle of the night. To save himself the trouble and preventing any night terrors for Rin, Sesshomaru flipped it on. He left the door open a crack. He would probably shut it before he went to bed himself._ _

__He found his step-mother gathering her things inside her red leather handbag. Then, he heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. A looming shadow stretched from the kitchen's archway and who should he see standing there. His father, Toga Taisho, wiping his hands with a dishrag. He appeared less regal and less formal in that modern garb. Instead of armor or a business suit, Toga wore jeans and a fleece shirt with the sleeves scrunched around his elbows. Despite the plain street clothes, Toga's heritage was on full display. For a demon fast approaching his middle-age, Toga was still powerfully built, tall, and bore all the hallmarks of a warrior. He had scars on his forearms from various weapons, including teeth. Jagged purple marks mirrored the clean stripes of magenta on Sesshomaru. Long silver-white was pulled into a ponytail._ _

__"Good evening, Sesshomaru," said Toga._ _

__"Hn." Was all Sesshomaru replied. He stared blankly into his father's eyes that were nearly identical to his own._ _

__"Isn't there something you would like to tell your step-mother?"_ _

__Sesshomaru sighed. He turned at last to Izayoi. "Thank you for taking care of Rin tonight. I hate to trouble you."_ _

__"It was my pleasure. Really."_ _

__His parents took their sweet time leaving. It was one in the morning by the time Sesshomaru crawled into bed. His head was pounding. He was trying to wrap his head around how to get that woman to work as Rin's new nanny. Sesshomaru figured that he could coax her slowly, let Rin worm her way under Tatsuhana's skin. His little girl had a habit of that. She turned Jaken into an uncomplaining imp whenever she was around him. From Rin's prattling, she liked Tatsuhana well enough._ _

__It didn't help that she was…attractive. Beneath all that attitude, Tatsuhana was something of a diamond in the rough. He planned to be very cautious around her.  
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__Tatsuhana rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She ducked behind the bar to keep the customers from seeing her yawn. She had been up all night, tossing and turning. For the last week, anxiety crept up on her and stole sleep from her. She was barely able to stay awake during class. Tatsuhana worried if she was going to be too tired to bike home when her shift ended. When she straightened up, she heard the bell over the main entrance clang. A couple of customers stepped in._ _

__Those who were in the middle of eating or having a conversation stopped. Nearly every pair of eyes were on the two who entered like they were a pair of criminals. There was a tall, dark, and handsome gentleman. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail to reveal pointed ears. He had claws on his fingers, and his eyes were positively predatory. When he smiled at her, Tatsuhana blushed a little. His partner, on the other hand, looked familiar somehow. It must have been the silver-white hair of his that reminded so much of Sesshomaru. Dog ears poked out from his head. There was no doubt; they were both demons who were making their way to the bar. The one with silver-white hair set down a file between him and the other demon._ _

__"What can I get you?" Tatsuhana asked in her best customer service voice._ _

__"Get us a couple beers, sweetheart," said the dark-haired one. He had the gall to wink at her._ _

__Tatsuhana's brow shot up. _Sweetheart_? If she had more energy, she would have chewed him out for that comment. How fortunate for him that she was too tired to bother with it. She asked for the brand and returned with two bottles. She popped the lids off herself and handed them over. For the rest of the evening, she spent babysitting the two while they chatted about business. Tatsuhana trained herself in the subtle art of selective hearing. Whatever didn't pertain to getting them drinks or food, she ignored them._ _

__Looking around the bar, she saw the anxious and disgusted faces of the other customers. Her boss had a no-discrimination policy; she let in everybody who didn't cause a scene. That didn't stop other people from judging. A couple of families paid their bills before their desserts arrived and made a beeline for the exit. Many others continued to stare as they munched on their dinners of steak and salad. Did these two have any idea how much attention they were drawing to themselves? As they drank, it became apparent that they either didn't notice or couldn't care less about the humans giving them the stink eye. Tatsuhana watched the dinner crowd slowly thin until it was just her and the gentleman at the bar._ _

__"What's your name?" Asked the dark-haired demon._ _

__Tatsuhana set down another couple of beers before them. "Tatsuhana. Friends call me 'Hana' for short, that is if I had any friends." Besides the one, she had in Maiko._ _

__"Oh, come on," he laughed, "A pretty lady like you? You've got to have friends."_ _

__"Koga," said his companion. "You're flirting."_ _

__Ah. _Koga_. So that's his name._ _

__"So what?"_ _

__"Did you forget that you're engaged to be married?"_ _

__Koga took a swing of his beer. It didn't hide the fact that he'd been caught red-handed. Oh well, it wasn't as if she was interested._ _

__"Speaking of relationships, Inuyasha, how's that new girlfriend of yours?"_ _

__The white-haired demon sputtered. "W-what? How'd you know about that?"_ _

__"I can smell her on you, you dog. What's her name?"_ _

__"Ain't none of your business, wolf-boy!"_ _

__They bantered back and forth. The more they drank, the less their conversation turned to business. By the time they started stumbling for the exit, the manila folder between them was forgotten. They picked themselves up awkwardly from the bar stools, the folder was entirely forgotten. Tatsuhana didn't notice at first because she was focused on watching them lean on one another for support as they staggered towards the door. When they left, she saw the folder still on the counter. Tatsuhana grabbed it and went after them. She caught them climbing into a cab, but it sped off before she called after them._ _

__Curious about its importance, Tatsuhana pried it open. It wasn't anything like a list of bank accounts or boring statistics. Inside the folder were renderings of ad campaigns and logos. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the Taisho Incorporated logo stamped on the inside. She glanced through the drawings again. A lightbulb went off above her head. Tatsuhana returned to work and secreted the folder into her backpack. Oh, she had every intention of returning it the next day, but not before she made some artistic reinterpretations._ _


	4. Chapter 4

Tatsuhana ignored her palpitating heart as she practically marched up to the secretary's desk. She put on her best customer service smile and presented the manila folder.

"Excuse me, I believe someone left this at a bar last night. The name says Inuyasha Taisho. Can I assume that this is the correct building?" She pointed to the name on the folder.

It seemed silly to her that a businessman who worked at Taisho Inc. would need to label his own folders. Still, she remembered the behavior she saw the night before. Tatsuhana wondered if the secretary could see the dark circles deeply set under her eyes. She spent all night re-drawing the advertisements she looked at from the folder. They were alright, but she could do better. Tatsuhana got about five hours of sleep after sketching a couple of ideas far more eye-catching than what Mr. Inuyasha Taisho planned initially. The new sketches hid beneath the originals. She couldn't help but smile to herself at the chance of getting something she drew into Japan's most prestigious and affluent companies.

"Thank you. I'll make sure Mr. Inuyasha gets it," replied the secretary.

Tatsuhana bowed her head slightly. She walked out of the building while maintaining her composure, somehow. However, once she was a reasonable distance from the building, Tatsuhana snuck into an alleyway. Out of public view, Tatsuhana threw her fist in the air in a display of self-congratulatory celebration. A peculiar nagging thought told her to at least demand a commission. However, since it was presumptuous to make such an offering when it hadn't been offered, it took it too far. Despite that, she managed to get her work inside a major corporation. She could at least be happy about that. Tatsuhana checked the street to make sure nobody had been watching her odd display. When she was certain no one saw her, Tatsuhana slipped about unto the sidewalk. She was in such a good mood, she splurged on taking the bus instead of walking to school.

"How could you lose the file?" Koga yelled at him.

He'd been doing that for the past ten minutes. The meeting was in an hour, and Inuyasha had nothing to show for it. He loathed seeing the smug look his older half-brother would give him the moment Inuyasha showed up empty-handed. Again.

To his shame, this wasn't the first time he made a mistake. His father covered for him. It became increasingly apparent that some of the other employees started to see him as the waste of space who needed his daddy to look after him. Sesshomaru made it clear that their father only let Inuyasha work to keep him out of trouble and out of pity. Inuyasha wasn't always the brightest in the bunch; he was humble enough to admit that much. That didn't mean he wanted to continue being the face of disappointment.

Yet here he was again. Looking at another screw-up.

"You were there too! You didn't remember the file either!"

"It had your name on it! It's not my fault that you can't hold your liquor."

Inuyasha leaped from his chair. His head was throbbing. To increase his agony, he had the mother of all hangovers. He opened his mouth to give Koga a piece of his mind when a knock on his office door stopped him.

"Come in," he barked.

A scared little temp agent entered. He was a scrawny thing and obviously human. Surrounded by demons couldn't have been good for his health. He shook all the time and usually cast his eyes downward.

"T-the secretary downstairs told me to give this to you, s-sir." He held out a familiar folder.

Inuyasha crossed the room quickly. He snatched the folder out of the poor temp's hand. Sure enough, it was his folder. The name was still intact. He thanked the agent, who was more than pleased to leave the room.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Inuyasha flipped it open to make sure. He smiled at the marketing designs that were to be presented in an hour. He slammed the folder into Koga's chest.

"See for yourself!" He took back his chair, decidedly more relaxed than before. Even his headache eased.

Koga flipped through the folder then paused. "I don't remember these designs."

"Well, if you'd been paying attention instead of trying to flirt with the coffee girl, you'd—"

"No, I mean, I don't remember these designs at all." Koga took a couple of leaflets and handed them over to Inuyasha to see.

Inuyasha's brows furrowed. Koga—for once—was right. The designs he had in his hands were not ones they and their team discussed. These renderings were based on the original plans; however, they were drawn differently.

"Have you been holding out on us, dog-boy?" Koga laughed.

The longer Inuyasha looked at the drawings, the more he was impressed. Dare he say it? Dare he say that these were better than the original plans they'd draw up in the last month? A month gone. Meanwhile, whoever drew the new designs had less than twenty-four hours.

"That girl at the bar last night. She must have found the folder and came up with these!"

"The cute bartender?" Koga wondered aloud. "Multi-talented, I see."

"You're engaged, remember? Don't be such a creep." Inuyasha couldn't pull his eyes away from the new designs. A twinge of jealousy struck him. He hated that a bartender could be so much more talented than a whole team of designers, but he also couldn't help being impressed.

Tatsuhana smirked as a familiar-looking man walked into the bar. She pretended to be thoroughly interested in the job of cleaning wine glasses. The white-haired man sat in front of her at the bar.

"How can I help you, sir?"

"Those designs. You did them?"

"Could you be more specific?" Tatsuhana knew it was impolite to string him along, but she couldn't help herself.

"I left a folder here last night, and somebody drew new designs and left them behind the originals. They're good."

"Good?"

"They're better than what I came up with." Inuyasha conceded.

"I'm glad you liked them."

Tatsuhana was reeling in the bait. They both knew her work was excellent. The scowl on his face said he needed something more from her.

"How much do you charge for commissions?" He finally asked.

Tatsuhana's heartbeat wildly inside her chest. This was her chance.

"Depending on what you want, I usually charge ten thousand yen for commissions up to thirty thousand. Since we're talking about commissions for a commercial business, I'm going to say sixteen thousand to thirty-five thousand. A piece."

"Only sixteen-thousand yen?"

"I'm sure we can negotiate a bigger deal when you need someone to make a better design." Tatsuhana poured two glasses, half-way with wine. "A toast? To a new partnership?"

Inuyasha hesitantly took the glass. "Should you be drinking on the job?"

"It's mostly symbolic. You'll have to drink them for the both of us."  
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It was another Friday night. Tatsuhana once again knocked on the door to the penthouse suite. Instead of Sesshomaru, a woman answered the door. For a split second, Tatsuhana worried it was the ex-wife. It took her a moment to gain a better look at the face. She'd saw that face before in magazines. Toga Taisho's human wife stood in the doorway. Tatsuhana felt small and insignificant. Mrs. Taisho looked like a magazine cover, perfect in all the ways that mattered. She was well put together in a flowy pink skirt and lacy blouse. Around her neck was strung a string of pearls. Her smile was sweet, ineffable, and genuine.

"Ah, you must be the babysitter! Come in, come in!" Mrs. Taisho greeted her.

Tatsuhana walked inside and placed her paint-stained boots near the door. She felt like a peasant walking where she should not tread. Mrs. Taisho was beautiful for a woman married to a demon. And if rumors were true, she must have been at least two hundred years old. She looked for her age. Tatsuhana entered the living room. After meeting Mrs. Taisho face to face, it was hard to take in her surroundings and feel anything but inadequate. Mrs. Taisho had an air about her that was too perfect but, at the same time, not in a sickly way. She was the picture of womanly grace. Tatsuhana stood in her tattered jeans with rips over the knees and paint-stained red tank top. An oversized cardigan was tied around her hips. Her hair was in a messy bun; she couldn't even remember when the last she washed her hair. By comparison, she was a slug.

"Miss Tatsuhana!"

A little girl's feet pounded the floor as she came whirling into the living room. Rin threw her arms around Tatsuhana's waist. Tatsuhana flinched at the girl's hug. She didn't realize how much of an attachment Rin had made towards her. This was…new and somewhat unsettling.

Mrs. Taisho reappeared on the scene. She was pulling on a coat and slung a purse over her shoulder.

"She's had dinner. All that's left is a bath and a bedtime story. I hope I didn't make it too easy for you." She walked over to them and bent down. "Give Grandma a kiss?"

Rin loosed from Tatsuhana's waist and wrapped her arms instead behind Mrs. Taisho's neck. She pecked Mrs. Taisho's cheek without even smearing her make-up. She walked her grandmother, which was an unusual sight considering that Mrs. Taisho still looked young enough to be Rin's mother rather than her grandmother. Rin closed the door after waving good-bye, profusely.

"Alright, Rin, we've got about an hour before bath and bed. What would you like to do?"

Rin hopped over. She fell into the couch, which almost swallowed her. "Can you show me how to draw a dog?"

"A dog? I could show you how to draw a whole barn of animals if we had the time." Tatsuhana chuckled. She dragged out a couple of sketchbooks from her backpack and several pencils.

Patting the floor beside her, she gestured for Rin to sit next to her. For Rin's age, she was quite astute. Tatsuhana showed some of the basics that even a child less advanced than Rin could follow. Instead of a realistic dog, Tatsuhana showed her a more cartoonish one, an anime dog, something that Rin could visualize. Tatsuhana observed the clock. She had Rin cleaned up and in bed long before Sesshomaru came home. He caught Tatsuhana cleaning up the mess on the coffee.

Good evening." Tatushana didn't bother meeting his eye. At that point, it wouldn't matter.

"Bringing schoolwork with you?"

"Not all of us have the luxury of being able to drop stuff off at the house at last minute and still arrive places on time. Some of us can't afford fancy sports cars to get us from Point A to Point B."

"Was Rin well behaved?"

Tatushana sneered at his question. The longer she spent with Rin, the more she pitied the poor child. Rin was too quiet for an eight-year-old. It was almost unnatural. Tatsuhana expected for Rin to be bouncing off the walls, but that wasn't the case. She suspected the perfectionist, absentee father had something to do with it.

"A perfect angel." Tatsuhana angrily shoved one of her sketchbooks into her backpack.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Asked Sesshomaru.

 _Perceptive son of a gun, isn't he?_ Tatsuhana knew he detected her sarcasm.

"I just think it wouldn't hurt for her to out more often. Hang around people, maybe kids her own age."

"She does that at school."

"But she needs to hang out with kids outside of school. She can't go from school to home until she graduates from high school. I think she needs to socialize more…with kids like her," said Tatsuhana.

"An artist, a bartender, an inn manager, and now a child psychologist. You're certainly an ambitious woman, Miss Hamasaki." Sesshomaru sneered.

"Look, I may not be a psychologist, but I know when a kid is lonely. You should at least take her to the park. Spending even an hour with your kid isn't going to kill you or your career, you know."

Tatsuhana bit the inside of her cheek. If she wasn't careful, she was going to say something she might regret. If she hadn't said it already. She watched Sesshomaru from the safety of the living room as he shook off his coat and hung it on the rack. He moved slowly towards her. Sesshomaru made his steps precise, almost predatory. Suddenly, Tatsuhana realized her position and exactly how she got to that point.  
Well, Mom and Dad, I guess I'll be seeing you sooner than I thought.

"I don't pay you to mouth off," Sesshomaru growled.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as soon as his growl reached her ears. Her skin prickled with goosebumps. Her palms became sweaty. Even though she was nearly six feet tall, Sesshomaru was still tall. He was less than arm's length apart from her, and it felt like he was towering over. His amber eyes narrowed in on her; she made herself a target. His lip curled into a feral snarl. Tinges of red began to bleed into the white part of his eyes. Tatsuhana swallowed hard.

The smart thing to do would be to apologize. She worked in customer service since the day her parents thought she was old enough help around the inn. She was barely thirteen at the time. Her mother taught her manners and posture and how to fake a smile without alarming someone. She was likely turning in her grave while Tatsuhana busied herself with mouthing off to one man she should have been quiet around.  
Tatsuhana was a smart woman. She could prove that with her grades and scholarships and recommendations and letters of praise written by teachers throughout the years.

But at that moment, Tatsuhana became the dumbest person on the planet.

She opened her mouth and spoke her mind.

"You don't pay me at all! I'm here because you're so bent out of shape about a pair of pants. Your daughter sits at home, drawing pictures of her dad in airplanes and cars, traveling away from her. She sees more of her grandmother and her babysitter than she does of you, and you're getting snippy with me for pointing that out?"

When Sesshomaru started to open his mouth, she could see the fangs poking out. She only hoped that he wasn't a messy eater. He stopped, however, when her cell phone began to ring from her back pocket. Tatsuhana answered. If he tried anything, there'd at least be a witness listening from the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hey Hana!"

Tatsuhana knew that voice. She tried not to sigh. Maiko's voice was barely audible behind all the music and talking. She must have been at a nightclub. Tatsuhana scrunched her face up after listening to her friend belch in her ear.

"Maiko…are you drunk?"

"You bet your sweet buns I am! Me and few co-workers went out after hours to…let loose. Listen…can you help me out of here? I'm stuck."

"You know I don't have a car." Tatsuhana went back to work with packing her stuff. She was surprised that Sesshomaru didn't stop her.

"I know silly…but you can call a taxi. Come, come on! Please? I don't like riding by myself. It'll be on me, I promise!"

Tatsuhana put on her boots. "Alright, alright. Just tell me where you are."

"I'll text you the address. See you soon!"

Tatsuhana slammed the door and sprinted for the elevator. Anything to get away from Sesshomaru.  
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Sesshomaru sighed aloud. He took several deep breaths and popped his neck. He stood in the middle of his living room for a moment before he could say he calmed down. If he'd known that Tatsuhana would be such a mouthy woman, he would have reconsidered the deal entirely. Unfortunately, Rin had grown an attachment already. Their arrangement had been going on for three weeks now. If he broke it off, Rin would slip into depression again. Visits from her grandparents eased her tensions, but he hated having to rely on them. The last thing he wanted to be for them to be at beck and call, especially when his father was still acting CEO and chairman. Worst of all, he hated owing a debt to them.

What he hated most of all was that Tatsuhana was right. He hated her for that, if not anything else. Sesshomaru sat on his couch, reached for his tie, and loosened it from around his neck. It wasn't hard to imagine the relief. Alone, in the privacy of his penthouse, Sesshomaru allowed himself to groan. The stoic king of his own tiny kingdom had feelings buried underneath all those layers. Showing them to others meant making him a target. He buried his face in his hand and rubbed his temples. The migraine forming made his head throb.

He sat up again after several minutes. His senses were filled with Tatsuhana, her scent permeating the air. Great. There was something about her smell he couldn't pinpoint. A mixture of spices and rain. She'd been the first woman who had the guts to talk to him like that, the first to be unafraid—or just plain dumb enough—to be honest. She made no intention of collecting his money, that much she made clear in her behavior. Tatsuhana went out of her way to show him blatant disregard even though he was basically blackmailing her. It seemed she liked Rin and wanted what was best, yet it meant risking getting her throat torn out.

As his body cooled down, Sesshomaru wasn't entirely that was what he wanted to do. Tatsuhana stood there, palms sweating, but she was looking at him with a defiant fire in her eyes. Her brows were close-knitted together like she was bound and determined to give him the tongue-lashing of a lifetime. Sesshomaru respected her for it. He hated her to the core of his being, but he respected her. If her friend hadn't called, he might have let her just to see how far things went. However, there was no sense in contemplating what might have been. Sitting up, Sesshomaru collected himself. He glanced at the coffee table and found Tatsuhana's sketchbooks she left behind after all.

Out of curiosity, Sesshomaru picked it up and started flipping through it. There weren't many used pages yet. What Tatsuhana did fill it with were rough sketches. He stopped at a page that looked oddly familiar. Sesshomaru brought it into the kitchen for better lighting. Sure enough, he saw something, not just _strangely_ familiar but _very_ familiar.  
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Tatsuhana hiked all the way to the nightclub. No bus, no bike. Just her and her two long legs. She stood in line a good fifteen minutes before being able to walk in, though not before having her backpack searched. Tatsuhana crossed the threshold. From the summer night and into the den of sweaty people rubbing against each other and alcohol, Tatsuhana squinted under the pulsating lights. She steered clear of the dance floor for her own sake.

Craning her neck and straining her eyes, she couldn't find Maiko in a place nearing its safety regulations. Tatsuhana kept one hand in her pocket, and the other stuck to her backpack strap. She looked everywhere except directly into someone's eyes. The music, loud and obnoxious, thrummed in her ears. The sound reverberated in her chest, almost making her heartbeat to the rhythm the DJ was spinning. Her ribcage rattled along with the music. She walked all the way around the club until her feet started to hurt. Tatsuhana began to reach for her phone to send another text when she felt the hairs on her neck, pricking again. Standing still, she felt the unmistakable sensation of someone watching her. Their eyes bored into her.

Forgetting what she was supposed to be doing, Tatsuhana looked around the club to find them. No one on the ground floor was looking in her direction, but once she looked up to the mezzanine area, she found them. Gold eyes looked down on her while he wore a smug look on his face. He enjoyed the view. Despite the dizzying, color-changing lights, Tatsuhana could still make out the fox ears poking out of his red hair. She sneered at him and walked out of his range. She wanted to get away, but more importantly, she wanted to keep herself from making a well-deserved gesture that would make her more of a target. Tatsuhana had one demon who was mad at her, she didn't need another.

"Hana! Hana-chan, over here!"

Maiko was sitting at a dark booth away from prying eyes. She waved her hands for Tatsuhana to see. Tatsuhana cut around the dance floor again to reach her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

Maiko's face was flushed red. There were over a dozen empty liquor bottles scattered around the table.

"M-my co-workers thought it was a good idea to blow off some steam after work. Then they left me! To rot! Can you believe that? Am I not good company, Hana-chan?" Maiko wailed.

Maiko was barely one-hundred and fifty centimeters high and weighed fifty-five kilograms. She was athletic but let herself slide after high school. Tatsuhana spotted one water bottle, but it had red lipstick on its mouth. Maiko only wore pink lipstick, which was currently smeared even down to her chin.

"How much did you drink?"

Maiko childishly giggled and raised a finger. Tatsuhana knew she was lying through her teeth.

"Come on. I'll let you crash on my couch tonight." Tatsuhana sighed.

Maiko wrapped her arms around Tatsuhana's waist and squeezed. "You're the bestest best friend a girl could ever hope for, Hana-chan!"

Tatsuhana pulled Maiko out of the booth. Her lanky legs slid off the leather seat with little resistance. She grabbed what she presumed to be Maiko's purse from the floor and slung it over her shoulder. Draping her friend's arm across her back, Tatsuhana half-dragged Maiko towards the nearest exit.

Unfortunately, that made her target again. Stepping out from the more shadowy parts of the nightclub, Tatsuhana once again felt the tiny hairs on her neck prickle. She looked up and saw the same fox demon staring at her as she tried to carry her friend out. Standing next to him now was another man, dark with a long braid going down his back. They were talking when suddenly the red-haired fox demon pointed at her below them. He caught his friend's attention, and then they were both staring at her.

Tatsuhana picked up the pace. Maiko's extra weight was no match for her. She picked her up and carried her out through a side exit. The night air nipped at the raised flesh of goosebumps crawling on top of her skin. Tatsuhana didn't have time or the luxury to sigh with relief. They were still too close to the club and the men who gave her the willies. Tatsuhana pulled Maiko with her to the curb, where she hailed a taxi. She shoved her friend in first while looking over her shoulder in case a couple of goons followed them out. Luckily, nobody seemed interested. Tatsuhana climbed in next and gave the driver her address. She tried not to look back at the nightclub as they pulled away. During the drive, Maiko fell asleep and laid her head in Tatsuhana's lap. Tatsuhana thumbed the old coin at her throat. The feel of the metal calmed her ravaged nerves.


	5. Chapter 5

Tatsuhana rarely made breakfast for more than herself. With Maiko sleeping off her hangover in the living room, she didn't have much of choice. She tried to make as little noise as possible since it was likely Maiko would have a killer headache. Her friend woke up to the smell of bacon and scrambled eggs.

"Ugh…It feels like I was run over by a truck."

"Not exactly but close to it," said Tatsuhana. She pulled up a chair because Maiko took up all of the couch.

"Did I do anything weird last night?" Maiko asked. She stuffed her face full of scrambled eggs. Her face scrunched in the bright light pouring from a nearby window. "Calm down, sun, you crazy ball of fiery death."

Tatsuhana couldn't help but laugh at her friend's comment. She stood up and closed the blinds. Maiko's face relaxed a little more.

"You didn't perform a striptease at the club if that's what you're asking. Aside from being a little clingy and overly affectionate, you don't do anything—as you call it—weird."

Maiko finished her plate and started looking for something. She rummaged through her purse for several minutes before giving up.

"Did I have my phone when we left?"

"I've got in my room. I didn't want another Kaito incident in which you drunk texted your ex-boyfriend. I'll get it."

"You're the best, Hana!" Maiko called out as Tatsuhana walked to her bedroom to retrieve Maiko's cell.

Once safely in her hands, Maiko quickly scrolled through her messages. Her brows furrowed the longer she stared at the screen. Tatsuhana glanced at the concerning look now appearing on Maiko's face. She collected the plates and silverware, taking them to the kitchen. From there, she asked her friend if she was okay.

"No. Maybe. I don't know. My co-workers I went with haven't texted me back. We went together, and then they went off somewhere. They told me if something happened, they'd let me know."

"Maybe they're sleeping off their hangovers. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be getting to work yourself. Perhaps they're already at the office?" Tatsuhana ignored the sinking feeling in her gut.

She remembered the two men who stared at them as she carried Maiko out of the club remained in the back of her head. She couldn't shake the feeling that all was not as it seemed. Unfortunately, Maiko was high-strung and prone to paranoia and hysteria. Confiding to her friend about her fears might push Maiko over the edge. Against her best intentions, Tatsuhana did not voice her opinion. She cleaned around her apartment while Maiko called in sick. Guess she would discover the fate of her co-workers the next day.

"What have you been up to lately? You've been so busy that we've hardly had the time to talk," said Maiko.

Tatsuhana finished the dishes and returned to the living room. She took up her chair again.

"You're one to talk, Miss Successful Lawyer."

"I'm still waiting for the bar exam. Nothing's official yet. When do you graduate from your program?"

"Next May. It was supposed to be sooner, but…"

Tatsuhana hadn't meant for her eyes to wander over to the small family shrine tucked in the corner. Maiko followed her gaze.

"I miss them too," said Maiko. "You're lucky to have had parents like them."

Tatsuhana lent her coach to Maiko for the rest of the day. She was happy to lend her library to a friend while she went to work at the inn. There was no T.V. in her apartment, much to Maiko's disappointment. Tatsuhana's phone started ringing when she reached the bottom of the steps.

"Miss Hamasaki, this is Sesshomaru."

"What do you want?" She could feel her blood pressure starting to rise.

"I thought about what you said last night. If you're willing, would you mind taking Rin to the park tomorrow afternoon?"

His words gave Tatsuhana reason to pause. From what she already witnessed his temper, Sesshomaru seemed like the last person to take anyone's advice. She was tempted to pinch her arm to make sure if she had been hit by a fallen flower pot and lay on the ground in a coma.

"Are you feeling, alright?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Are you willing to take her to the park or not? I don't care for your sass." He was growling through the phone.

Despite being miles from each other, Tatsuhana had the sense not to tempt him further.

"I'll have to move things around, but I should be able to handle it. Yeah, I can take her to the park for you," Tatsuhana answered.

"You're free to pick her up at two o'clock. No later than that. Please bring her back by four-thirty. Not later and no earlier than that. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. It is arranged. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. Good night." He hung up.

Tatsuhana tried not to think too hard about his request. By the tightness and urgency in his voice, there was something he didn't want Rin to see or hear. Or maybe people were coming over to the penthouse that he didn't want to see Rin there. As a demon, it must have been unusual for his kind to have a human child as a daughter. Rin never talked about her mother, and Tatsuhana didn't feel like her life was worth risking asking Sesshomaru about it. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it certainly wasn't going to be the cause of her death.  
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Sesshomaru rubbed his temples. He glanced at his calendar again. How stupid could he have been? The meeting was planned weeks in advance, yet how could he forget that it was taking place less than a block from his apartment. It was likely he would want to take a closer look at the blueprints kept safely in Sesshomaru's study? Sesshomaru berated himself; his own incompetence led to this. It wasn't his personal property he cared for, but if that spider so much as glanced at Rin, he would immediately have machinations in mind to use her against Sesshomaru. As long as Rin was out of sight, Sesshomaru could breathe a little easier.

A knock came at his door. "Mr. Taisho?"

His father managed to talk him into getting a new secretary. She was a flighty thing, but she proved to be competent now and then. However, she must have heard the rumors about him and Kagura. She wore a tight pink business skirt that barely followed company dress-code policy. She made it a point to wear sweet-smelling perfume as if that would attract his attention. The new secretary, Mimi, strutted in with her wobbly ankles barely withstanding the heels she wore just for him. He couldn't believe otherwise why she would subject herself to torture. By her half-leaning gait, it was apparent she didn't wear anything taller than an inch.

"What is it?" He slammed the calendar book closed.

"Your brother is here to see you." Her fox tail swished behind her.

"Half-brother," he corrected. "Send him in. And Mimi?"

"Yes, sir?" Her tail swished excitedly now.

"Use the intercom. You can ask Jaken how it works if you're confused."

He watched the light in her eyes die a little. Her tail stood still. She tried to hide her pouting to limited success. Mimi let herself out. Not long after the door closed behind her, it opened again. Inuyasha walked in. He looked just as pleased to see him as Sesshomaru was of him.

"What'd you want?"

Sesshomaru bit his tongue. He long gave up on the idea of correcting his brother's mode of speech at work. It took too much time off his busy day and wore down his patience. If his half-brother insisted on talking like a country yodel, then so be it.

"I was curious about where you got those ideas for the new campaign. I know that Father asked you and your team to come up with a new logo for the computer the tech department is planning to launch. I wanted to ask a few questions about it."

Inuyasha shifted on his feet. He at least had the guts to look him in the eye instead of bowing his head or looking away.

"What? Don't like the designs or somethin'?"

"It's not my personal taste that's in question. I actually like the logo. It's a question of just how original it is. I'll swallow some of my pride and admit that you're good at what you do."  
Inuyasha half-smiled.

"Don't get cocky. I'm willing to concede that much; however, I have the distinct feeling that what you presented the other day was not, in fact, your own design." He watched Inuyasha's face grow pallid.

"What are you talkin' about? Are you sayin' I stole the image from somewhere?"

"Nothing of the sort, little brother. I'm suggesting you paid someone to draw the logo for you and then hid behind the mediocre designs to make it seem like the best one was the final draft."

Inuyasha's jaw dropped to the floor. "How dare you suggest that! Where's your proof?"

Sesshomaru pulled out the sketchbook Tatsuhana left behind at his penthouse. He flipped it open to the right page and stood from his chair. He crossed the room with the sketchbook held open for Inuyasha to see. Blood drained utterly from his half-brother's face at seeing the image in its roughest sketch. The lines were blurry and unrefined. Some places were confusing and made for an odd picture. But it looked quite similar to the final product. The similarity was far too uncanny to be a mere coincidence.

"Where'd you get that?" He reached to snatch the sketchbook away.

Sesshomaru pulled it away before Inuyasha could get his claws on it. "That is my business. Father should be arriving soon enough. I would start thinking up of excuses if I were you."

"W-why would he be comin' up here?"

"If word got out that you stole the image from someone, it would look bad for everyone involved. Our father's company has already been called into question several times because of you. We're going to squash any rumors before they start—"

As if on cue, Toga Taisho entered the scene. He was too casual for Sesshomaru's taste in letting himself in, but what could he do? Toga glanced between his two sons.

"What's the problem this time?" He asked.

"Inuyasha, would you care to explain to Father what you did?"

"I beg your pardon? What's he done this time that's made you upset, Sesshomaru?"

"Nothin', old man. He's…" Inuyasha's words fell off. What could he say that would make a convincing lie?

None. None as Sesshomaru handed over the sketchbook to their father. Toga looked at the page for the longest time. It didn't take long for it to click.

"Inuyasha, did you draw this yourself?"

Only this time, Inuyasha had the shame to look down and away. His fluffy white ears bowed. "I might have had someone sketch somethin'."

"You presented the final image as your own," Toga frowned, "You realize that whoever the artist is could sue, right?"

"She's a bartender. What can she do?" Inuyasha practically shouted.

"A bartender? You stole the image from a bartender?" Toga began flipping through the other pages in the sketchbook.

"No!" Inuyasha defended himself. "I…I left the file at a bar. The next thing I knew, it reappeared in my office with all the original designs and the one she did. I…did not pay her. She slipped it inside without my knowledge or permission."

"I see." Toga shut the sketchbook. "Well, we're still going to have to rectify the situation before things go public. I want you to tell Sesshomaru where you found her and persuade her to give her any contact information."

Sesshomaru could have laughed if he didn't want to give himself away. He didn't have to require Inuyasha's assistance, then again, he couldn't reveal how he managed to get a hold of the sketchbook in question. 

"Wait a minute! Aren't you gonna ask how he found that sketchbook in the first place?" Inuyasha was more perceptive than he thought.

"I happened upon it." Which wasn't a wholesale lie.

"It doesn't matter. Just give him the bar where you found this woman, please. For once, could you cooperate with your brother?" Toga urged.

Inuyasha huffed and folded his arms across his chest. Toga turned to Sesshomaru. "If possible, have her come in on Monday."

This request surprised him. His father was always doing strange things. Some might say that his heart was too big for a demon. Sesshomaru wondered what exactly Toga was planning. He would ask later.

"I'll see what I can do, Father."

In the evening, the Taisho brothers hired a cab. Inuyasha took an hour trying to remember the street. He and Koga, as Sesshomaru learned, went to a reclusive bar on the other side of town to drink and discuss the new advertising proposals. In his drunken state, Inuyasha completely forgot the file at the bar. If not for his sheer dumb luck of Tatsuhana taking matters into her own hands, he would have been skewered on a pike for showing up empty-handed at the meeting.

Sesshomaru knew that Tatsuhana worked at a bar four days of the week and spent weekends at her family's inn. Of course, he knew that she wasn't going to be there tonight. Sesshomaru only went to pretend he didn't know. He didn't suspect that she worked at a classy bar but was mildly impressed by the establishment. It was no five-star hotel bar. However, it was a small but quaint place. Away from corporate spies and paparazzi. He understood why his brother and Koga fell upon this place. When they entered, all eyes were on them. It seemed that most of the patrons didn't particularly care for their kind. They walked up to the bar where a nervous girl put away the glasses she'd been cleaning.

"Um, how, how can I help you, sirs?"

"There's a woman who works here. She was behind the bar another night. Tatsuhana, I believe? Is she here?" Sesshomaru had to refrain from using her full name. Inuyasha wouldn't have known that, and it would have blown Sesshomaru's cover if he revealed such knowledge.

"Oh! Yeah, um, but she doesn't work weekends. Can I leave her a message?"

"No, that won't be necessary." Sesshomaru turned and glanced at Inuyasha. "Come along, Inuyasha. We have places to be."

The pair left the bar without much delay. Eyes glared at them as they exited. Stepping out into the street, they started walking.

"Why you secretive, Sesshomaru? It's like you're on edge."

"I don't know what you mean," he answered.

"Come off it! You got that sketchbook from somewhere, didn't you? It didn't just fall out of the sky, and you just so happened upon it. Where'd you find it?"

"That really isn't your business, little brother. I suggest you stick your nose elsewhere."

"Ah. I see! You've got a girlfriend now. Is that it? Don't want the world to know you've been slumming it with a bartender?"

Sesshomaru stopped in his tracks and growled. He managed to startle passers-by with it. Pedestrians moved around them to avoid collateral damage.

"Keep your mouth shut, mutt."

Before Inuyasha could react, three police cars whizzed past them. All other vehicles stood still as the police cars drove like bats of caves. Sirens were blaring and flashing, halting traffic to a stand-still.

"Wonder where they're going?" Inuyasha wondered aloud, forgetting their argument.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: The middle section contains a scene with physical and sexual assault. If you're triggered or are uncomfortable with this subject matter, you are free to skip over the section or the chapter entirely.

Tatsuhana arrived on time. She changed in the office into a simple but elegant kimono and pulled her hair into a tight bun. The guests were mild-mannered for a Saturday night, but one or two drunk businessmen weren't anything they couldn't handle. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Tatsuhana made her rounds to visit all of the rented rooms and make sure that the over-night guests were comfortable. Nothing seemed to be going wrong. She pushed down the feeling that something was going to go very wrong. There was too much on her plate to worry about anxiety.

Indeed, there seemed to be nothing amiss.

She made her first appearance in the Indigo Room, where a middle-aged couple was celebrating their wedding anniversary. Tatsuhana knew that in advance. Her heart tore itself apart at the sight of the happy couple. Their children surrounding them as relatives wondered how they could have stayed together for so long. Tatsuhana bit the inside of her cheeks.

She stood in a corner to make sure everyone was having a good time. The large family seemed to be enjoying themselves. Tatsuhana put on her best customer service smile; she hoped that none of her staff noticed. There was a light in her eye that sputtered and died. She didn't have to look in a mirror to know it. Time, evidently, did not heal fast enough. When her duties were concluded, Tatsuhana slipped away. One of the staff followed her out.

"Are you alright, Mrs. Hamasaki?" Asked the waitress.

Tatsuhana stood there, dumb as a post. Slowly, her brain processed the words.

"Yes. Yes. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" The waitress looked puzzled and concerned. Her gaze was immediately fixed on Tatsuhana as if looking for something under the managerial surface.

"I'll be okay. I promise."

"Of course, ma'am. I'll be back to serve more sake in a moment. I have to refill the bottles."

"Very good. Thank you." Tatsuhana waited until the girl disappeared around the corner.

She secreted herself in a little nook hidden by some tapestry. Her fist beat against her chest, where her heart lay bleeding. Tatsuhana took a few shuddering breaths to regain herself. Why did it hurt so much? Children lose their parents all the time. It was the nature of having them; they tend to die before you did. It was natural.

But if it was natural, why did it hurt her so? Tatsuhana fought against the single tear threatening to reveal her state. Usually, she would not let such things consume her. Did she miss them so much that seeing any happy couple would make her like this? Tatsuhana fought back the flood and won. Stepping out from behind the tapestry, she was met with a pale-faced Hanzo.

"Hanzo, what is it? It looks like you've seen a ghost."

His face was pallid, white as snow. His eyes were wide with fear. Tatsuhana saw him shaking from head to toe.

"I-it's about the guests who rented the Maple Tree Room this evening."

"Has it been double-booked?" She looked at his face and realized that she asked a stupid question.

Hanzo was a highly capable man. He did or said nothing when it was not needed. She trusted him with much of the business affairs. To see him pale and twisted by fear meant that something more troublesome than a double-booked room already made itself home. She saw Hanzo, not as the strong, stalwart pillar of a man that her father hired when she was still a child. She saw Hanzo, the frightened man. Her heart sank at the sight of him shrunken in.

"Show me," Tatsuhana demanded. Hanzo was in no fit state to say it in words.  
Hanzo nodded and straightened himself. Walking behind him, Tatsuhana saw how his muscles tensed up. She didn't need to be a psychologist to know that his body was about to enter fight or flight mode. This was bad. This was very bad.

They walked to another side of the complex. The inn had been remodeled over the centuries and had once been a castle. A castle designed by a madman, but a castle, nevertheless. Hanzo directed her to the other side of the inn. The Maple Tree Room was the least popular and was located by the guest rooms where people stayed. It was a small room that often saw more use as a storage facility than a place to host parties in. She remembered telling her staff to clean it up. It took them almost a whole day to sort it out. Tatsuhana made the booking herself. By all accounts, he sounded legitimate.

Hanzo stood to the side of the door. He watched her nervously as she went to slide it open. Tatsuhana entered and shut the door behind her. Bowing, she said, "Welcome, gentlemen. It's our custom for the owner to greet their guests just as they are settling in. Is everything to—"

Tatsuhana rose from her bow. Before, she barely glanced at them. She made out five figures but did not get a good look at their faces. When she saw them, she wished she hadn't?

There were five men, alright. If you could call them that. News and legends of their gruesome acts reached even her ears. Demons didn't also like associating with them. Human yakuza clans refused to do business with them and stayed far out of range. Tatsuhana strained to put on her customer service smile when she was looking at the Band of Seven.

Were they allowed to call themselves that when one member was in jail and the other a mental institution? Neither their name nor their numbers mattered. One of them could do the job of ten or twenty and leave a blood trail in his wake. Tatsuhana stood stock still. Her kimono did nothing little to hide the fact that her knees knocked together. The one in the middle stared at her. He had a familiar face, but she could not place where she saw it. Besides newspapers and wanted ads. A dark braid down over his shoulder, and a purple star graced his forehead. He stared and stared and stared. Then, he smiled. He said nothing, but he didn't need to. Tatsuhana imagined her spine turned into a steel rod. She cleared her throat and began again.

"Excuse me, sirs. Like I said, it's our custom for the owner to greet guests as soon as they settle in. Is everything to your liking?"

"When's the food coming?"  
Tatsuhana knew his name. He was the member who always wore a bandana over his bald head. Renkotsu, the smartest one in the bunch. Also, the rudest.

"It will be arriving shortly. Very, very soon." I hope. For all our sakes.

"Can that cute host bring us some sake? If that's not too much trouble?"

Tatsuhana heard of this one and his taste in men. If she allowed Hanzo to serve, she risked his life. Jakotsu didn't take rejection well.

"I'm afraid Mr. Hanzo has other duties. I will be serving you personally throughout the night. If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask." Tatsuhana felt her heart pounding against her ribcage. She wondered if they could hear it.

Nobody knew for sure what to make of the Band of Seven. Police weren't even sure they were humans or demons. Two of them indeed weren't. The only thing Tatsuhana was grateful for was the fact that the members who were less like humans were imprisoned. However, she didn't take much comfort in knowing. That still meant she had five of the Band of Seven in her inn. It seemed silly now to underestimate Hanzo's fear.

The one who had been staring at her finally said something. "And what do we call you?"

Tatsuhana's cheeks turned bright red. She had completely forgotten to introduce herself. She bowed from her waist again and apologized for her rudeness. There was a feeling in her gut that said she would be doing that a lot tonight.

"You're free to call me Mrs. Hamasaki."

Bankotsu, the leader, cocked his brow. "And is there a Mister Hamasaki around?"

Tatsuhana swallowed hard. She felt a bead of sweat dribble down her temple. How much should she reveal? It would make no difference whether or not she lied. She had no way of proving it either way.

"I'm afraid not," she replied with a sad smile. "I'll be right back with that sake."

Tatsuhana bowed and made a swift exit. She nodded at Hanzo, signaling to follow. They walked fast to the kitchen and snuck inside an alcove, away from prying ears.

"What are we going to do?" Hanzo whispered harshly. "It's the Ba—"

Tatsuhana slapped his hand over his mouth. A waitress walked by but didn't see them.

"Keep your mouth closed on the matter. We don't need everyone to panic. As far as everyone is concerned, it's business as usual. You and I will handle everything. We can tell everyone at the next staff meeting, but right now, we have to keep level heads. So long as they are confined to the Maple Tree Room, the other guests won't see them."

"Shouldn't we call the police?"

"If we call them now, those people are going to slaughter everyone in sight. For now, they're paying customers. Let me handle them. You try to keep up the illusion. When the food is ready, have the younger girls switch with the older ones. I want only experienced hands in there. Tell them to stay calm and don't say anything."

Hanzo nodded vigorously. "Right, right. I'll get started right away."

For the rest of the night, Tatsuhana didn't travel far from the Maple Tree Room. If she wasn't in the room serving, she stood across the hall like a sentry. The waitresses who entered came back out pale-faced and shaken. Tatsuhana hurried them along to their other duties or sent them home if they looked too scared. Towards the end of the night, most of the waitresses were sent away. Those rest of the remaining staff were kept away from the room and ignorant of what was going on. It was better that they didn't know. Tatsuhana patrolled from the Maple Tree Room to the end of the hall. As of yet, nothing looked out of place. 

She kept smelling the air in case her nose picked up the coppery tang of blood.  
She was making her way back down towards the Maple Tree Room when she was shoved against a wall. Whoever it was, slammed her so hard that her cheekbone bruised on contact. Tatsuhana felt her cheek swelling up as blood vessels popped underneath her skin. Someone pulled her arm and pushed it against her back. A pair of lips grazed her neck, and she felt hard breathing against her ear.

"Just as I thought. You smell good too."

Tatsuhana bit her lip to keep herself from saying anything that would make matters worse. Bankotsu pressed against her back and pushed her further against the wall. She felt his warm body press so close escape was nothing more than wishful thinking. He was top of her with his hips squared up against hers.

"You must be beating men back with a stick," Bankotsu laughed in her ear.

Goosebumps erupted over her skin. Holding her arm, he must have felt the reaction coursing over her flesh.

"Are you scared of me, little bird?" He twisted her wrist.

Tatsuhana yelped, but she said nothing. She already gave herself away, she wasn't going to egg him on further by admitting the truth.

"Good."

His free hand wandered to her waist. Despite the layers that separated their skin, Tatsuhana felt him through her clothing. She couldn't stop whimpering at the feel of his hand pawing at her. His hand traveled up and briefly cupping her breast before moving downward and finally came to rest at the top of her thigh.

"I don't know how much longer I'm able to control myself around you. Do you have any idea what effect you have on men?" To drive his point across more obviously, Bankotsu thrust his hips once.

She could feel all of him as if she were naked.

"I've wanted to do this since I saw you at the club the other night. You're much less shrill than your little friend."

Blood drained from her face. The club…does that mean… _Maiko_!

Tatsuhana thrashed against him. Attempting to escape, she pulled at her captured arm. Bankotsu's grip held tight. In fact, he laughed at her and pressed his lower half against her.

"That's more like it," he chuckled against her ear.

"If you've touched her, I will—"

"No need for threats, not that you're really in a position to make them. I wasn't interested in your friend…Maiko, wasn't it? She was absolutely wasted, but too shrill and loud. Not very compliant. Her co-workers, on the other hand, were very…accommodating."

No matter how desperately she fought back, Bankotsu was too strong for her. He laughed and even enjoyed her thrashing. His grip never lessened.

"What do you want from me?"

"Well, if I were to answer honestly, I'd say I want you stripped down to your birthday suit and on your hands and knees, but I'm here more for business than pleasure. Where's the basement?"  
Tatsuhana stopped fighting. Her brows furrowed. "Basement? What could you want in the basement? There isn't anything down there for you."

The door to the Maple Tree Room burst open. The four remaining members of the Band of Seven ran out.

"Bankotsu, we're leaving! Cops are on their way." Renkotsu yelled. He sprinted down the hall after the rest.

Bankotsu released her without fanfare, but before he ran after his crew, he managed peck her on the cheek. Tatsuhana shuddered and rubbed her cheek raw, even though it already hurt from when he shoved her. Bankotsu turned briefly towards her. Looking over his shoulder, he smirked.

"I'll see you again soon." And ran off.

Tatsuhana's legs gave out soon after. She collapsed on her knees and wrapped her arms around herself. Her head bowed towards the floor. She breathed heavily like a fish out of water. His words kept replaying in her head over and over.  
_I'll see you again soon._

It wasn't until Hanzo appeared with a policeman behind that she finally raised her head. Tatsuhana started to get off the floor only to lose her balance. Her legs shook too much for her to stand on her feet. Hanzo helped her up and looped her arm behind his neck. Hanzo and the policeman escorted her to the management office. Hanzo made her sit down on the sofa.

"I'm going to get you some water," he said.

_I'll need something more substantial than that._

Hanzo left her alone with the police officer.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" He asked.

Tatsuhana shook her head. Her throat closed up. She couldn't say anything even if she wanted to. Hanzo returned. He gave her the glass which she swallowed in nearly one go. A knock at the door made Tatsuhana jump out of her skin. Hanzo was right there to calm her down with words instead of just pushing her down. She had enough of men pushing her tonight.

"Hello?" She managed to say.

A tall man in a suit sauntered in. The thing is…he also had a dog tail and ears.

"I'm Detective Mayeda Tamasaburo. I would like to ask you some questions if you don't mind, Mrs. Hamasaki."

"H-how do you know my name?"

"Mr. Hanzo over there introduced himself. I asked him if he could direct me to the person in charge. Is your husband here by any chance?"

"Husband?"

"I was told that you're called Mrs. Hamasaki," said Detective Tamasaburo.

Tatsuhana shook her head. "Oh, no. I'm not really married. I've asked the staff to call me that. It makes me sound older and more professional, and it usually keeps men from…"

Little good it did against the leader of the Band of Seven. Even if I was actually married, it wouldn't have mattered to him.

"Sure, you're free to ask me anything, but, um, could we do this in private?" She glanced at Hanzo.

He nodded in understanding and quietly left. The policeman followed after.

"And can I talk to a female officer? Please?"

"Alright. Let me go get here. Do you feel comfortable sitting here by yourself?"

"Yes. Just tell…just ask Hanzo to stand by the door if he's not doing it already."

"Not a problem."

The detective let himself out. Tatsuhana listened to the ticking of the clock on her wall. Six full rounds before someone else entered. A human woman introduced herself as Ida Nanase.

"You wanted to see me, Mrs. Hamasaki?"

"I, um, I would like to report… a sexual assault…"

Hanzo drove her to her apartment by the time the police finished their work. Detective Nanase took down Tatsuhana's assault by Bankotsu. The mystery of who called the cops remained unsolved. Tatsuhana asked all of her staff to be honest and come forward, but no one did. All the police were able to legally say was that a woman called claiming that the Band of Seven was at the inn. Nobody fessed up, though Tatsuhana did not think about the massacre it could have been. The Band of Seven was more interested in getting away than causing bloodshed. She changed in the office, but she was more than happy to throw her kimono into a furnace. If only she had the time.

She opened the door. She found Maiko exactly where she left her, only this time she was wide awake. Maiko jumped from the couch and ran to her. Tatsuhana barely closed the door when Maiko wrapped her arms around her.

"I was so scared. I turned on the radio, and it said that the Band of Seven was at your inn. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Then Maiko looked at Tatsuhana's face and gasped. "Hana…your face."

"It's nothing. It's just a bruise." She brushed Maiko aside and slowly made her way to the bedroom.

"Hana, please. Don't shut me out at a time like this. Something happened to you, and I know it! Please, Hana. Talk to me."

She slipped into her bedroom before Tatsuhana had time to slam the door home.

"Tell me what happened," Maiko demanded. "I know you're not very good at expressing yourself through words. Just this once, I need you to tell me what happened tonight at the inn. Did one of them hurt you?"

Though she was much smaller, Maiko somehow managed to make Tatsuhana sit on the bed. They held hands until Tatsuhana felt the flood gates open. Maiko was the only one left to talk to since Mom and Dad were gone. They'd known each other since middle school. Who else could she turn to? Tears streamed down her cheeks as Tatsuhana wailed. She curled up on the bed, rested her head on Maiko's lap, and cried her eyes out.

"He…He touched me. He was…he was going to rape me. I know he was if he'd gotten the chance. He was saying these awful things and kept touching me. He pinned me against the wall, and he was going to rape me. I…couldn't…didn't try to stop him. I should have done something!"

"What do you think you could have done? He had you pinned."

"I could have used my martial arts training. He wasn't even that tall compared to me. I was going to let him do that to me!"

"Stop that right now, Tatsuhana!"

That gave her a pause. Maiko seldom referred to her by her full given name. She petted Tatsuhana's head and smoothed out her hair.

"I don't ever want to hear you talk like that again. I don't care about the circumstances. You are in no way responsible for what could have happened. Besides, he would have done so much worse to you if he found out. He would have tried subduing you with more powerful methods than shoving you against a wall. The Band of Seven are bad people. I'm just grateful that you're safe and sound."  
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For the next night, Tatsuhana didn't sleep. Well, didn't sleep as much as she should have. When Monday morning arrived, she showered, dressed, and made breakfast for two. Maiko gave her bus fare because she left her bike at the inn. Maiko stayed home again, unwilling to leave Tatsuhana alone in her apartment when school was over. She made it there, safe and sound, but that didn't stop her from looking over her shoulder. Every time she thought someone was standing behind, her heart started to beat wildly. Her skin would become cold and clammy, and blood flowed to her legs. Bankotsu knew her last name and her face. 

He might show up anywhere.

Her fears seemed relatively unfounded as he didn't appear out of nowhere to finish what he started. Tatsuhana carried her loaded backpack through the crowded courtyard to reach her class on time. She was making her way towards the steps that led up the glass-front building when she heard a shrill creature calling for her.

"Out of my humans! I say, out of my way!"

A green imp staggered through the crowd of students aided only by a staff twice his size. The humans grimaced at the two-headed staff and decided, wisely, to keep clear of him. Who knows what sort of magic the imp held in his tiny, stubby paws? He looked about and then turned towards the steps.

"You there, Tatsuhana Hamasaki!" The imp bounded towards her, though the steps proved a small impediment for the imp's stature.  
Tatsuhana grimaced at his approach. "What do you want? I'm a little busy right now."

"Your presence is requested at Taisho Inc. Do not take this invitation lightly, silly woman."

Tatsuhana growled, which only made the imp flinch. Not much, but the imp was used to much bigger creatures snarling at him. She wouldn't dare do anything to him in front of a crowd or because he worked directly for Sesshomaru.

Her eyes stung after staying up so late, and her head throbbed. It was a miracle she even decided to get out of bed this morning. Maiko convinced her not to let the events of Saturday night dictate the rest of her week, let alone the rest of her life. Tatsuhana reluctantly got out of bed and followed through her morning routine. That didn't make anything more natural. For the most part, she kept looking behind her shoulder to see if Bankotsu had followed through with his threat. While the imp was no leader of the Band of Seven, he was annoying.

"Don't call me 'woman.' I have a name. Use it."

"Mr. Taisho requests your presence immediately—"

"Yes, yes, I heard you the first time. That doesn't mean that I'm going to follow you. I have classes to go to. If Mr. Sesshomaru has something so urgent he needs to tell me, he can leave a message on my phone. Until then, good day."

"It is not Sesshomaru Taisho that wants to see you! Toga Taisho demands your presence."

Tatsuhana blinked. She resisted pinching herself to find out whether or not she was dreaming.

"What would—" She glanced around. The students were staring at them while they passed. "Ugh, fine. I'll go. But this better be good."

Tatsuhana—led by the imp Jaken—stepped into the elevator. The men in business suits and women in expensive office apparel took one look at her and sneered. She hadn't showered in a couple days, and her hair was pulled into a messy bun. Her clothes weren't in much better shape. Since Saturday night, she hadn't even left her apartment to wash some clothes. She grabbed whatever looked clean and didn't carry a smell. As usual, her shirt was stained with various paints and ink. She wore dark skinny jeans with rips at the knee. Tatsuhana also made no effort to cover up the bruise on her cheek or the dark shadows under the eyes. She shuffled along with her backpack heavy with textbooks and art supplies. She was all too happy to step off the elevator when she reached her destination.

Jaken led her into a long hallway, which ended at a glass-front conference room. The demons wearing business suits seemed a little jarring at first. Especially the red ogre-looking creature with tusks and horns as he adjusted his tie. Standing at the head of the room were the Taisho men, Toga, and his sons. The former greeted her.

"You are Miss Tatsuhana Hamasaki, correct?"

"If not, I've been writing the wrong name on all of my assignments for the last twenty-one years."

Toga Taisho bowed briefly from the waist. "I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here today, Hamasaki-san."

"Your toadling certainly piqued my interest."

"Don't patronize me, woman!"

Tatsuhana shifted on her feet. She knew when every eye was on her. It was easy to read a room when you're a perfect stranger. The business associates seated at the long table were staring at her like she'd grown a second head. Then there were Toga's sons. Inuyasha kept his head down; his ears drooped. Who beat him like a puppy? Sesshomaru put on an air of indifference. He looked right through.  
_Jerk_ , thought Tatsuhana.

"I called you in because I wanted a second pair of eyes." Toga took out a remote from his jacket pocket. "I want to show you a couple of images, and I need you to describe them to me. And to the room. I want your honesty."

Toga hit a button. Behind them, a white screen scrolled down from the ceiling. Shades were pulled down across the windows, and the lights were dimmed to near extinction. He clicked another button. The projector on the table showed an advertisement for a new Taisho Inc product.

"Tell me what you think of it," said Toga.

"Sir?" Tatsuhana furrowed her brows. What is going on here?

"Give me your honest opinion about this advertisement. Don't be gentle."

Tatsuhana stood back and looked. She knew what it was. It was a sketch she used to base off when making her own.

"It's alright…artistically speaking. It draws in some attention, but not enough. It doesn't have enough dynamism. It's rather sterile and corporate. It doesn't tell the average consumer a lot about the product other than it's expensive. The product doesn't look like it's meant for anything other than business. Something only a professional would use."

"Good, good. Now, what about this one?" Toga clicked another button revealing the advertisement she drew.

Granted, it had been added to, and the lines cleaned up a bit, but it was still mostly her work on the screen.

"I hate to be biased, but this one has more energy. It grabs the attention of the viewer. That's what I had in mind when I started sketching it."

The room now filled with whispers. Associates started whispering to their neighbor and glancing at Inuyasha.

"And did you sell this image to my son Inuyasha?"

"No."

"Did he steal it?"

"No. In fact, I don't think anyone should blame him. I saw an opportunity, and I took it. It wasn't my intention to get him into trouble. I just wanted someone to see my work even if it wasn't going to be selected."

Toga hit another button. This time the projector turned off, the screen rolled back up the ceiling, and the lights turned back on. It took him but three steps to come within arm's length of her. So used to looking down because of her height, it felt strange for Tatsuhanato to look up. Toga Taisho was at least a head taller than her. Despite war-paint on his cheeks and the feral-look in his eye, his smile was pleasant and warm.

"How would you like a job in our marketing department?"

"W-what?" Tatsuhana stuttered.

"You can't be serious, old man?" Inuyasha burst out, shame forgotten.

"She came up with a better advertisement in less than twenty-four hours while you had two weeks on this project. I've spent five minutes with this woman, and I can tell she's honest, hard-working, and career-oriented. Judging from what I've seen, she is talented as well as ruthless. I want her on my team before someone else scoops her up."

Tatsuhana blushed. Her cheeks weren't warm, they were hot.

"Sir, I don't know what to say. I mean…this is incredible. You don't have any idea what this would mean to me, but I don't know if I should accept it. It seems a little unfair. Can I at least give you my portfolio?"

Toga Taisho shook his head. "I've learned enough about your skill. There's no need to be humble. Where's that 'I-saw-an-opportunity-and-I-took-it' attitude you had five minutes ago?"

"I-I would have to put my two weeks in at the bar where I work…"

"Then it's settled! You can come back in two weeks for your orientation." Toga grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously. If he hadn't been in perfect control of his strength, he could have shaken her arm right out of its socket.

Tatsuhana stood dumb as a post. She was in shock. The businessmen—and women—filed out awkwardly. Toga Taisho let her stand in awe before having her leave the conference room. Her heart was pounding. She waited until Inuyasha filed out last.

"Come here, you magnificent bastard!" She grabbed him by his lapels and gave his forehead a sloppy kiss.

"Bleh! What was that for?" Inuyasha wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

"To think if you hadn't gotten drunk that night, I would be stuck working at a bar to pay off my student loans for the next forty years!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You should thank Sesshomaru. If he hadn't picked up your sketchbook, nobody would have known it was you. How did he find your sketchbook anyhow?"

Tatsuhana barely opened her mouth when a hand clamped onto her shoulder.

"Inuyasha, don't you have a meeting with your team in five minutes?"

"Don't you have a stick to remove from your—"

"Don't be late, Inuyasha. You've already stirred up enough trouble as it is this week. Don't make things worse for yourself," said Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha flipped him off as he walked away towards the elevator.

"I see charm runs in the family," said Tatsuhana.

"You didn't call yesterday. Rin was looking forward to the park."

"Something came up. I'm sorry."

"Does it have anything to do with the bruise on your face?" His hand reached up to cup her chin and turn the bruised cheek towards him. "How did you get this?"

Tatsuhana pushed him away. "None of your business, that's how."

"I wouldn't take such a tone with me. I could destroy you," Sesshomaru growled.

"If you think bullying tactics are going to work on me, then you've got another thing coming. I don't take kindly to threats."

"That wasn't a threat…"

Tatsuhana blinked and missed him move. Sesshomaru was a silver blur. He shoved her into the corner. His arms caged her between them, and with his indomitable form, there was little room for escape. Tatsuhana's face turned beet red as all the blood in her body rushed to the surface in her cheeks. Sesshomaru's piercing gaze pinned her to the wall like a needle in a butterfly wing.

"It was a promise." Sesshomaru moved one of his arms and cupped her chin. "When I have someone working for or under me, I expect the best. And only the best. If I expect you to be at my apartment at a certain time and place, you should be there. I had to cancel a meeting and consul Rin because she wouldn't stop crying. There isn't a god left in Japan that would be able to help you should you do something like that again or make the same mistake working here."

They glared at each. Neither said a word. Tatsuhana was too angry for words. She should hit him, fight back. Shove him into the corner and see how he likes it. They were so close in height that they nearly matched. Their breath ghosted across the other's breath. Tatsuhana should be a shaking mess, and yet, she could felt the opposite. What was the difference between Sesshomaru and Bankotsu? Aside from that, the former was a wanted criminal, was there a difference? Sesshomaru's intention was to scare her, not to force himself on her. He wasn't the kind of man—demon—to do such a thing. He could have done so by now if that's what he wanted. Such behavior would probably be beneath him. With a face like Sesshomaru's, he wouldn't need to force himself unto a woman like a low caliber male.

Her heart was racing inside her chest. The real problem lay in whether or not Sesshomaru could hear it rattling against her rib cage. He made no indication of it, though he cocked his head to the side. His face stood close to her, his minty breath caressing her lips.

Tatsuhana was saved by the bell. Well, she was saved by the elevator pinging for Sesshomaru's stop. He quickly peeled himself away from her as if she caught on fire. He didn't so much as glance in her general direction as he got off. For both of their sakes, he didn't say anything.


	7. Chapter Seven

She smelled like paint. It shouldn't have surprised him. She was always covered in it in some way or another. She showed up in a baggy t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans with rips at the knees. There were purple-gray half-circles under her eyes like she hadn't slept in days.

When he pressed close to her in the elevator, his only intention had been to intimidate her. What he said was true. He canceled the appointment with Naraku, which would surely bite him later, and Rin refused to calm down until he promised to take her to the park. A promise which he doubted even he could keep. Rin was so upset she almost refused dinner that night. Tatsuhana had wiggled her way into his daughter's favor. Rin enjoyed Tatsuhana's company, and there weren't any significant complaints. By her outburst a few nights ago, it would seem Tatsuhana enjoyed spending time with Rin as well. Sesshomaru had let his baser desires to overshadow his actions. It wasn't that he was controlled by them at that moment, but they certainly had a say in what he was doing.

He never wanted to be close. Tatsuhana dressed like…well, he couldn't define it. She was never really put together, not like the women who always surrounded him. Even his stepmother rarely stepped out of the house in denim pants and a casual t-shirt. Tatsuhana wore no make-up, no jewelry, and wrapped her hair in a messy bun or ponytail. She was haggard-looking most of the time and had an attitude.  
Oh, he heard her heart pounding away inside her chest. A demon would have picked up the sound a mile away. He remembered how her face turned red like an apple; her cheeks looked good enough to eat.

Sesshomaru stopped that train of thought.

Tatsuhana was a beautiful woman; he wasn't going to lie about it. He was a man attracted to women. He also didn't feel the need to subject her to a lesser man's thoughts. Indeed, if he was one of those who couldn't control their desires, there would have been a lot more done to her than pinning her to an elevator wall. She had the body that women envied and the kind that men drooled over. She was a little on the small side, but she had nice legs, probably earned from all the biking she did. None of that meant he was going after her.

It wouldn't be easy. Since she babysat Rin on Fridays and would soon be joining the company, he had a lot of access, but that didn't mean he was going to take advantage of it.  
Tatsuhana was a babysitter and a soon-to-be-coworker. He learned his lesson about dating or even just sleeping with the women he worked with. Kagura taught him better.  
He opened the door to his office, finding it unlocked. There were only a certain number of people who could have opened it. Last he recalled, Kagura had yet to return her copy of his office key. Sesshomaru half-expected his office to be defiled and vandalized with an ax splitting his desk in twain. Instead, he found everything in order except for his mother to bother the magazines on his coffee table.

"Oh, good. You're finally here. I was wondering if I would have started reading one of these boring rags in the meantime." The magazine she had in her hand was quickly discarded back onto the glass-top coffee table with a plop.

A peach dress revealed Kimiko's figure. For over eight-hundred years old, she still looked terrific. It seemed that she was determined to show it at her ex-husband's place of business too. A gold wristwatch shined on her wrist, and a white leather Chanel bag hung on her shoulder by a gold chain.

"What do you want, Mother?" Sesshomaru sighed.

Kimiko didn't give him any room to guess.

"I was told by one of my good friends that your date two weeks ago went swimmingly, but you haven't called the young lady back. Was there a problem?"

 _This again_. Sesshomaru resisted rolling his eyes. His mother's friend was probably the mother of his date that night. Each passing year, the more impatient his mother became with him at the lack of grandchildren for her to spoil. At least Father minded his business and let nature take its course. Sesshomaru couldn't say the same about his mother.

Every other month, she set him up with the daughter or granddaughter or niece—it didn't matter who—to reach her goals. It wasn't long before every other month became every month. Kimiko sat on his desk with her arms folded across her chest. Her white Louboutin pumps tapping the floor tip-toed on his last nerve.

"That _girl_ was impervious to the fact that I had no interest in someone who was making goo-goo eyes with the waiter. She seemed more interested in him than me."

"She's vivacious and young. How could you expect anything different?"

"Yes," said Sesshomaru. "A little too young for my tastes. She looked like she barely graduated high school. Her overtly flirtatious nature and inability to talk about anything other than her hair or money or my money she will make a delightful trophy wife for someone willing to put up with her nonsense. It is unfortunate for you that it is not I."

"It was a single date to an art gala. Would it be so terrible to give her a second chance?"

"Yes," he answered.

Kimiko pinched the bridge of her nose. She sighed dramatically.

"Fine. Not that one. But…" She started to say.

"Mother," Sesshomaru growled.

"My good friend Ina said that her daughter just had her divorce finalized. She's visiting her father here in town and could use some company Friday night. You'll clear your calendar that night. I'll text you the restaurant later."

Kimiko was already sashaying out of his office before he had the chance to comprehend what she just said. She climbed into the elevator, and the door closed on him. If he had been just a split second faster, he could have told her off and refuse. He wasn't in the mood to go through the women her mother saw fit to throw at him. She was throwing girls at him like an idiot throwing cupcakes at a wall hoping one of them will stick. It was game Sesshomaru was getting tired off.

Sighing, he returned to his office. He spent the rest of the day burying himself in work as he tried not to think about the woman who smelled like paint.  
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Mrs. Nanami didn't take the news too well. Tatsuhana was a valued employee, but with a few witty words, Mrs. Nanami learned it was for the best. Tatsuhana couldn't work as a bartender for the rest of her life. Her last paycheck would be going into a new wardrobe for her new job. She couldn't imagine better reactions from her soon-to-be-former co-workers that she snagged a job at Taisho Inc without ever even applying for the position. She didn't embarrass herself twice by retelling the story of how she got the job in the first place and lied through her teeth about the situation.

When she came home, aching from head to toe, Tatsuhana immediately crashed on her couch.

"Just…five minutes." She promised herself as her eyes closed.

The events of the last couple of days crashed down on her. A roller coaster of emotion knocked her flat off her feet. Her body had no other choice but to slide into slumber.

She woke up in a haze. Tatsuhana picked up her phone off the coffee table. The bluish light burned her retinas before her eyes quickly adjusted. Tatsuhana groaned when she saw that the time was three forty-five, and there were still so many chores for her to do. Dishes in the sink, a basket of clean clothes that had yet to be put away, and a history paper to make citations for. Her body, however, ached too much to do any work. All of that would have to wait until later that morning.

She took her phone with her to the bedroom. Her shirt was still sticky from a customer's spilled drink and left her stomach cold when she peeled it off. She ditched her belt on the floor along with her pants. An oversized t-shirt served as her pajamas for the evening. She was going to crawl into bed right after changing, but her bladder had other ideas. Tatsuhana sleepily marched to her bathroom. She didn't bother washing her hands afterward. She stopped carrying when her bed was empty and waiting for her in the other room.

All the lights were turned off in her apartment except the lamp on her bedside table. Tatsuhana could make out its dull yellowish light from the short hallway. She took one or two steps towards her door when she felt something watching her.

Like two bullets piercing her skull, she felt something watching.

Tatsuhana froze. Her hands tightened into fists at her side. Despite the blood throbbing in her body by now, she turned to look.

There was nothing there. Only shadows. Her blinds were closed in the living room so that she couldn't even see a street lamp or the headlights of a car passing by. She saw nothing.

With a shrug of her shoulders, Tatsuhana turned again to go to bed. Her blood turned to ice the moment a pair of hands shot out of the darkness. They seized her shoulder with a vice grip and clamped around her mouth to prevent any screaming.

"Hello, little bird." A raspy voice said in her ear just before teeth nipped at the lobe.

Tatsuhana screamed as she shot straight up on the couch. Dawn was pouring through the small slits in the window blinds. Maiko, who'd been making breakfast, dropped the frying pan, throwing scrambled eggs all over the floor.

"Hana!" She bolted from the kitchen and sat down by Tatsuhana's feet. "Are you okay?"

Tatsuhana pawed at her face. Sweat beaded down her forehead.

"It felt so real," she moaned into her palms.

She felt a pinch on her arm. Maiko didn't bother pretending.

"Wanted to make sure you knew it was just a dream."

"Thanks," Tatsuhana said as she rubbed her arm. "I guess."

She helped Maiko clean up the mess and finish with breakfast. Thankfully, Maiko's dime paid for the ingredients.

"We need a girls' night out. The two of us! What are you doing Friday night?"

Tatsuhana paused. Fridays were reserved for babysitting, but she couldn't tell her friend that. Maiko always worried that she pushed herself too hard. She complained that Tatsuhana was taking on too many jobs and couldn't understand how she juggled school, work, and minimal social life. It was a social life in the same way that the Parthenon was a structurally sound building nowadays, but it was her social life.

"I don't think so. I have plans to study that day."

"Too bad." Maiko sipped her coffee.

Tatsuhana's face must have been a usual sight. The doorman to Sesshomaru's expensive apartment building opened it for her as she tugged at her backpack straps. Her ride carried up and away. Knocking at the penthouse suite door, she chewed her lip. It wasn't Sesshomaru's opinion she cared about. He could stick where the sun doesn't shine; it was Rin he worried about. She hated to admit it, but she'd grown attached to the girl, and it made herself sick, knowing that she's hurt her in some way. Sesshomaru opened the door. Tatsuhana balked at the semi-casual gray suit he wore.

"Hot date?" She joked.

Sesshomaru's silver brow quirked skyward. "Jealous?"

"Over you? Doubtful." She looked around the suite but couldn't find Rin. "Where is she?"

"In her room. Sulking. She doesn't think you like her anymore."

Tatsuhana took off her shoes at the door and made a beeline for Rin's bedroom. She didn't try to glance at Sesshomaru as she brushed past him. Rin's door was left ajar and creaked when she gently pushed it open. Rin sat on her bed, silently playing with a stuffed bunny. Her head snapped towards Tatsuhana.

Rather than continue sitting on the bed and ignore her, Rin hopped up and ran towards Tatsuhana. She wrapped her little arms around Tatsuhana's legs and gave them a squeeze.

"You came back!" Rin grinned from ear to ear.

"Of course, I did. Why wouldn't I?"

The little girl looked down and away. "I thought you didn't like me anymore," she said bashfully.

"No, that's it at all. Something very important came up, and I couldn't make it. I'm sorry."

Rin gave her enough wiggle room to kneel on the floor. Tatsuhana unzipped her backpack and pulled out some of the contents.

"And to make it up to you, I got something. I've got coloring books a new box of crayons. We can pop in a movie and color together. Would you like that?"

Rin didn't speak except in excited squeals. She grabbed the coloring books that Tatsuhana presented and hugged her with them in her arms. Sesshomaru walked into the doorway.

"What's all this noise?" He adjusted the cufflink on his sleeve.

"Miss Hana's brought some coloring books for me!"

"Don't you have enough of those already?"

Tatsuhana shot him a nasty look. He might have meant it as a joke, but she could never tell what he was thinking. Just like when he pinned her to the wall in the elevator.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Tatsuhana tried to say it without hissing.

"I should be back by eleven. I don't want her staying up til then, understood? Her bedtime is—"

"Eight o'clock sharp. I think I know what I'm doing by now," said Tatsuhana.

Sesshomaru glared at her for a moment. With Rin in the room, there wasn't anything he could say or do to her. A thrum of power hummed in Tatsuhana's chest. She and Rin walked Sesshomaru to the door. Tatsuhana didn't mention his date in front of his kid, out of respect for Rin. To be honest, she hoped he choked on his steak.  
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Sesshomaru waited for about ten minutes at the table. His mother's text said seven, sharp, and ask for the name Oshido. The waiter brought him to an empty table. They were both curious wherever his date could be. Despite this, he sat down and waited. The woman finally arrived dressed like she just stepped out of a nightclub. Her dress clung to every curve. Sesshomaru noticed how some of the male patrons couldn't help but stare at his date. They exchanged names before she sat down. She glanced at the menu, set it down, and asked for a bottle of red wine. It took a great deal of effort not to sneer. Not only was she late, but she also ordered red wine of all things. His preference was white wine; she didn't even have the courtesy of asking. She downed a glass and a half before their meal ever also arrived. He was about to make his excuses when she said the most curious thing.

"In about fifteen minutes, a friend is going to rush in here and tell me that someone broke into my apartment. We're both going to look very shocked and dismayed at the fact. I'll leave, looking ever so distraught, and you'll ask if there's anything you can do to help. We'll make a scene, and then you can have the rest of the night to yourself. Deal?"

"I beg your pardon?" Was his only response.

She huffed. "You don't want to be here. I don't want to be here. My mother refuses to believe that I have a boyfriend of my own choosing. I will not be roped into her match-making shenanigans as she's done with my brother. You seem like a competent man who can provide a woman with everything she wants. It's rather unfortunate that I am not that woman."

Their food arrived. So far, no sign of the woman's friend. They finished the salad course before a young man, a fox demon, came barging into the restaurant. He tried to look panicked, but to anyone with a discerning knew he was acting. His expression was a little too much to be believable. He immediately went to their table and make eye contact with Sesshomaru's date. Everything about her plan went off without a hitch. Sesshomaru played his part well enough but refused to make a scene just so she could sneak away with her boyfriend. When they left, he tried not to remind them not to appear too intimate with each as they went, but the boyfriend's arm was already slung onto her lower back. Hardly the place of a friend's comforting hand.

Sesshomaru ate his meal in silence. He was there, and he was hungry. It would be a terrible waste of food.  
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There was a change of guard by the time he returned home. The doorman who opened the door for him was different. Sesshomaru made the abysmal trek to the elevator. Safely inside, he loosened the silk tie at his throat. This was a first. He felt slightly insulted, to be frank. It was usually him that left a woman dangling in the wind. At the same time, he couldn't help but respect his date in a way. She was with her flaws, but she at least knew what she wanted, spoke the truth, and took the initiative to remove herself from the situation. Sesshomaru would ply the same old excuses when his mother asked him how it went. His date would probably have an alibi for her mother to tell his mother. He narrowly escaped with his life, for which he was eternally grateful.

Well, as grateful as he could be.

The long ride up gave him pause to think. His mind wandered a little too far. One moment he wondered if Rin had been put to bed on time, and in the next, he saw her face. Tatsuhana's face. Suddenly, he was uncomfortable ins his own skin. Being in the elevator and recalling her face, Sesshomaru couldn't stop the memories of her pinned to the corner, her face bright-red as she looked up at him. She must have been scared to death. He had acted on pure impulse, which went against his nature. It merely wasn't rational.

But then there he was, thinking about a woman who, by all appearances, didn't want him. She made it clear by her words, her sneering, and her complete disrespect of his authority. It must have been the artist in her that rejected his embodiment of a cold, corporate exterior. She was cold too in the same way a modern steel sculpture was cold, but at her core, beneath what she showed, was a heart on fire.

He stepped off, hoping that next time he would never think of her and elevators in the same train of thought again. Sesshomaru unlocked the door. He found Tatsuhana hunched over her sketchbook, fingers blackened with the charcoal stencils she used.

"I hope you're careful," said he.

Without looking away from her work, "You've got a leather couch. A damp cloth will remove anything from the surface with just a little dab. Or you could waste your money and buy yourself a new one if my dirty peasant fingers have sullied your furnishings."

Sesshomaru watched her pack up her art supplies, being mindful of his couch. When she finished, there was still charcoal all over her fingers. He waited for her to run to the kitchen to wash her hands—like a sensible person—instead watched her rub them on the front of her pants, leaking dark gray streaks on her jeans.

"I take it Rin behaved?" Sesshomaru didn't want a fight, so he avoided a conversation about her hygiene.

"As always. She wants to go to the park tomorrow morning. It's Sunday, and I don't have anything going on in the morning. Do you want me to pop by and take her?"

"It'll make up for what you did last week."

Tatsuhana frowned. "Your eight-year-old daughter is better at forgiving people than you. I'm glad she doesn't share your level of pettiness."

"Rin is a lot kinder than I," said Sesshomaru as he hoped that would be the end of it.

For a moment, he forgot who he was talking to. Tatsuhana loved being the person who got the last word in.

"And it wouldn't kill you to be a little more like her. I don't like being pushed around. I don't come here for you or just because of some stupid debt. And I don't appreciate the way you talk to me like you're on some pedestal. If not for your money and power, you'd be just the same as me."

His jaw twitched at her words. They confused him. Mostly, he was confused about what upset him more: the fact that she suggested they would be equal if he didn't have money or that she didn't come here for him. This gave him another pause. Why did that, of all the things she said, make his teeth grind? Sesshomaru wanted no illusion about why she was here. It wasn't because he enjoyed her company.

On the other hand, Sesshomaru would admit privately that he enjoyed how she never kowtowed to him. He was spoiled and wanted perfection. The smallest bit of chaos was conquered. Perhaps Rin had started to pull him in a different direction or that Tatsuhana was the first woman who didn't attempt to seduce him. She wasn't afraid of him either. This was brand new territory for him. He said nothing as Tatsuhana finished gathering her things. She stood at the doorway, putting on her shoes when he stopped her.

He reached inside his jacket for his wallet and pulled out sixty-five hundred yen*. Sesshomaru held it out to her.

"What's this for?" She asked, taking the money but didn't pocket it yet.

"Your payment. For babysitting Rin."

"I thought that—"

"Do you want money or not?"

"Yes. I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth," she answered, stuffing the bills into her back pocket.

"I'd put that in your front pocket if I were you. You wouldn't want your hard-earned money to be pick-pocketed on your way home."

"Oh. Right." She rectified the situation by moving the money to her front pocket.

Sesshomaru walked her to the elevator. It was difficult for him not to imagine walking a girl to her apartment door after a date. He swiftly pushed that feeling aside.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning. Say eleven?"

The elevator dinged; its doors swished open. Tatsuhana climbed on. Sesshomaru merely nodded. Before the door closed, she said, "Alright. I'll…see you then." And waved at him.

The elevator door closed. The light on the floor indicator blinked. Sesshomaru watched it go further down until it stopped at the first floor. Standing alone in his hallway, with no neighbors to snoop on him, Sesshomaru pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

_Not getting attached was going to be easy, right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * 6500 Yen= $60 USD. Approximately


	8. Chapter Eight

Rin practically shoveled her scrambled eggs into her mouth despite his warnings. The staff cleared off the table by ten. For the next hour, Rin proceeded to pace and jump and skip around her room, refusing to sit still until Tatsuhana arrived. Sesshomaru looked over some paperwork in the living room until the appointed hour. Ten forty-five ticked by. No knock. Ten fifty-five ticked by. Still no knock. Eleven ticked by. No knock. He looked up from his watch as if she would appear unannounced in his suite. By seven past the hour, there was finally a knock at the door. Rin squealed and ran for the door, bouncing with too much energy.

"Rin, what I have told you—" Sesshomaru got out of his seat to get the door, but Rin already thrust it wide open.

"Miss Hana!" Rin wrapped her arms around one of Tatsuhana's long legs and refused to let go.

If she was hindered at all by Rin clinging to her, Tatsuhana didn't show it. She simply carried the girl with her where she went.

"Glad to see someone's happy," said Tatsuhana as she smiled down at Rin.

"You're late," Sesshomaru said grumpily.

"I didn't say I was going to be here at exactly eleven o'clock. Besides, I got a flat tire, and I needed to pump air into my bike."

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just drive?"

"Because cars cost money and money is not something I have."

As if sensing the tension between the adults, Rin quickly excused herself to grab her backpack from her room. While Tatsuhana distracted herself with her phone, Sesshomaru took in her appearance before she noticed. Her jeans were tight-fitting, especially around her hips. He didn't want to think about what it did for her backside. There were holes over the knees because, of course. He was surprised that her t-shirt wasn't splattered with paint. Her long hair was braided and pinned back with a headband.

"If you have something to say, say it. Your staring is a little unnerving, to be honest."

Sesshomaru snorted and returned to the couch. "Your imagination is truly overactive. I just hope you'll be able to focus on a work environment that has a dress code and office etiquette."

"I told you before, I run my family's inn. Just because I dress casually when I'm outside of work doesn't mean I dress like a lazy intern. And I'll have you know that my hospitality is second to none. It's you I'm worried about." Tatsuhana shoved her phone into her pocket. Something Sesshomaru didn't would be possible considering how tight her pants were.

"It couldn't be that famous if you're heading the ship." He snarked.

Tatsuhana was about to make a nasty retort back when Rin came back.

"I'm ready!" She slipped her purple backpack on and clamored towards the door. She slipped on a pair of sneakers and waited for Tatsuhana to join her.

"We should be back by three. If that pleases you, Your Majesty?" Tatsuhana gave him a sarcastic curtsey.

"No later than three, peasant."

Tatsuhana stuck her tongue out at him before closing the door.

Alone with his thoughts, Sesshomaru suddenly found it difficult to concentrate on the contract details before him. His mind was distracted by Tatsuhana's long legs wrapped so snuggly in those jeans of hers.  
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Tatsuhana guided Rin over to the bus stop. The girl looked up at her with a curious furrowing of her brows. Tatsuhana quickly replied that they would be taking a bus. She wasn't surprised when Rin said that she'd never ridden a bus before. When it arrived, Rin squeaked like a bus when it pulled up in front of them. Tatsuhana kept her hand on Rin's tiny shoulder and helped her. She had more than enough to pay for both of their fares (thanks to Sesshomaru). Rin sat next to her in the first pair of seats available to them. She playfully kicked her legs under her seat as she asked Tatsuhana a dozen questions. Once she got over her shyness, Rin was an uncorked bottle of curiosity. Tatsuhana worried that her charge would talk her ears off before they even got to the park. Mercifully, the ride didn't take very long. The bus pulled right up to the park's entrance.

"Say 'thank you' to the bus driver, Rin," said Tatsuhana.

Rin dutifully said thank you to the diver, who gave them a tip of his hat.

Tatsuhana had to hold on to Rin's backpack strap as they dismounted. Rin was a bundle of nerves waiting to wreak havoc on the playground. Tatsuhana wondered how long Sesshomaru kept his daughter indoors.   
Rin had way too much energy for an eight-year-old. Rin half-dragged Tatsuhana through the park's entrance. It was a good thing that the latter had long legs to keep up with the former. The first stop was the playground with the jungle gym. Tatsuhana found a bench where she could oversee Rin. The girl banged her knees a couple of times, but she never ran to Tatsuhana with her scrapes. She continued playing on the monkey bars without worry about her poor knees. Rin only sat down when Tatsuhana called.

They walked a half-circle around the park's circuit. Tatsuhana opened her backpack and pulled out a handmade picnic. She picked a spot on a hill and settled in the grass. Rin stood next to her. Tatsuhana patted the grass beside her.

"Daddy says that we shouldn't sit on the ground. Our clothes'll get ruined," said Rin.

"A little grass isn't going to be the end of the world. Now, if you want some of these rice balls, you'll enjoy them a lot more if you take a seat."

Rin looked around a bit as if expecting her father to appear and scold her. Reluctantly, she plopped on the ground. Her fingers fiddled with the blades of grass while Tatsuhana fixed her a napkin of food. Rin ate the rice balls with glee, knowing that her father wasn't around to fuss about manners and what-not. Tatsuhana sipped from her thermos of coffee. It had grown lukewarm by the time she got to it, but she needed the caffeine, and it tasted just fine.

"Miss Hana, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, kiddo," said Tatushana.

"Do you and my daddy hate each other?"

Tatsuhana sighed. That was a good question. This whole situation started because Sesshomaru was a spoiled brat who wanted her to pay for two-hundred thousand-yen pants. All because of one little accident. Granted, he started paying her like a normal babysitter, and if not for him, she might not have gotten the job at Taisho Inc. The fact that he had been petty enough in the first place to strong-arm her into looking after Rin soured their whole relationship. They lived very different lives, and it was difficult for Sesshomaru, who grew up in wealth, to understand the hardships of what Tatsuhana was currently going through.

"Hate is a very strong word. Your daddy and I don't see eye to eye."

"That's because he's taller than you."

"I didn't mean literally. When people say that they 'see someone eye to eye,' it means that they don't agree on specific issues. For your daddy and me, he doesn't quite understand that I like to live my life the way   
I'm accustomed to. I like the way I live, how I dress, and I love being able to be myself when I'm not working. I go to school, so I have to pay for it with two part-time jobs to stay off the streets. When I have the opportunity to not have to worry about uniforms or how to do my hair, I like to wear whatever I want. Even if it's covered in paint. There are probably other things, but I think that's the main one."

"Do you like school?" Asked Rin.

"Yeah. I do. I get to learn a lot about art, and I get to hang out with people who like it as much as I do. I want to be a painter. So, I'm learning to do that."

"I think your pictures are very pretty. I believe that you'll be a good painter someday!" Rin said excitedly.

Tatsuhana felt warm flutters in her chest when Rin said that. She couldn't help but smile and ruffled Rin's hair a bit. They ate in general quiet, Rin's curiosity somewhat satisfied for the time being. Or at least long enough for them to eat lunch. They returned to the jungle gym for a few more rounds. Rin continued to ignore the scrapes she was inflicting on her body; she was too excited to worry about a little thing like a cut on her knees or palms. Tatsuhana winced when Rin scuffed up her hand but then proceeded to wipe the sand off and climb back on again. Tatsuhana was vaguely impressed by Rin's stamina. However, at some point, she had to call it quits before Rin broke something.

"Hey, Rin," she called out after half an hour. "Do you want to get some ice cream?"

It was the only thing she could think of to get Rin to stop busting up her skin. And it worked. Rin came springing back towards her. They, however, didn't leave until Tatsuhana bandaged up Rin's knees and sprayed some disinfectant on her cuts. Rin whined, but there was no helping it. Tatsuhana held her hand as they walked to the ice cream stall set up on the west end of the park.  
They were walking when suddenly Tatsuhana felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle and stand on end. Unconsciously, her hand tightened around Rin's.

"Miss Hana, is something wrong?" Rin asked.

They didn't stop walking. Tatsuhana shook her head.

"No, everything's fine," she answered. "Just…daydreaming."

The feeling didn't go away when she bought their ice cream. In fact, the feeling got worse. Tatsuhana rubbed her neck as if that alone could ease the tension she felt building. Now eyes were boring into her skull. She forced a smile on her face to keep Rin from becoming afraid. Rin appeared none the wiser because she was too distracted with gobbling her strawberry cone before it melted. It was almost two-thirty by the time they started heading for the exit.

"Miss Hana, I have to use the bathroom."  
Tatsuhana found one near the exit. She went in to hold Rin's backpack and make sure nothing else happened. The girl was banged up but cheerful. Rin finished and washed her hands. Tatsuhana handed back her bag, and they were once again headed for the exit.

At least, that was what Tatsuhana had in mind.

There wasn't a soul around when they entered, which should have set alarm bells in Tatsuhana's head. She pushed open the door, half-squinted in broad daylight. Her eyes did not adjust until it was too late.

"Hello, little bird."

Tatsuhana shoved Rin behind her. Her eyes adjusted and found Bankotsu. He was dressed casually, too casually than should be allowed to a criminal and murderer. Bankotsu peaked around Tatsuhana.

"Oh, so there is a man in your life? Or maybe there was one? I don't see a ring on your finger."

"If you lay a single hand on her, I swear I'll—"

"You'll what?" Bankotsu chuckled. "Scream? Call the police? Fight me? You won't do anything so long as that little brat is near. Wouldn't want to risk her getting hurt, do you?"

Tatsuhana knelt on one knee.

"Begging for mercy already?" Bankotsu took one step closer.

Tatsuhana quickly whispered her instructions into Rin's ear before shoving her back into the bathroom. Rin locked the door behind her. With Rin safely out of sight, Tatsuhana shucked off her backpack.

"You're not going to lay a finger on that girl," she said.

Her knees threatened to buckle, but she forced her muscles to tighten to the point of aching. She'd rather be dead than let Bankotsu see her afraid. He'd gotten the advantage against her before, but never again.   
She rose to her feet and put up both her fists in a defensive stance.

"Let's not get too hasty, my little bird." Bankotsu took another step closer.

"I'm not your anything!"

"We'll see."

Bankotsu started with a left hook but never suspected that Tatsuhana would anticipate it. She dodged out of the way and punched him where there was an opening. Bankotsu left his midsection unguarded. He doubled-backed from the sheer force of her hit. Despite his grinding teeth, he still managed to smirk. His cocky smile only served to anger her more. Her leg swung wide, nicking his jaw. Bankotsu was still too strong to go down after two hits, but at least she was beginning to bruise his ego.

He spat out a little bit of blood. His smirk diminished ever so slightly. This time he charged for her. Bankotsu grabbed her by the waist and hauled her into the ground. Once on her back, Tatsuhana had little means to defend herself. Bankotsu's first punch knocked her head to the side. His second knocked the wind out of her.

Grabbing the front of her shirt, Bankotsu lifted her torso off the ground.

"You're lucky I want to keep that face of yours pretty. So, why don't you come quietly?"

Tatsuhana spat in his face and ignored the taste of copper in her mouth. She swung her arm out to hit him in the ear. Disorienting him, Bankotsu rolled to his side and left Tatsuhana enough time to clamber back to her feet. When he rose, Bankotsu wiped her spittle off his cheek.

"You…are a lot tougher than I first took you for. I thought you'd be some prissy little lady. As it turns out, you're pretty and strong. I like that. I like that a lot," said Bankotsu.

Tatsuhana bit the inside of her cheek. She had no reason to debate or speak to him. She needed to reserve her energy. Rin should have called the police on her phone by now; they should arrive at any minute. All Tatsuhana had to do for now was wait it out until the cops showed up.

"Like I said, I don't want to ruin that face. I'm going to make this quick." Bankotsu cupped his hands around his mouth and turned his head towards the bushes. "Mukotsu, do it now!"

He pulled a bandana from his back pocket and tied it around his mouth. Tatsuhana stood there like an idiot before she realized that she should have been fleeing. She turned towards the buses too late. A grubby-looking man with beady bug-eyes jumped out of the rush. His face was half-covered by a bandana. He uncorked a traditional gourd, and pink smoke spewed out of the tiny hole in the gourd. Tatsuhana found herself quickly enveloped in the cloud and choking on it.

Her lungs burned with every breath she took. Tears flooded down her cheeks as she tried to push through the pink cloud. It took a few minutes before she was unconscious on the ground. Still, Bankotsu and Mukotsu didn't move until the mist disappeared. Tatsuhana lay utterly helpless on the cobblestone path. Bankotsu checked her pulse.

"Good job, Mukotsu. Now to get her to the hideout." He hefted Tatsuhana with ease onto his shoulder.

"Perhaps I should carry her? In case she wakes up?"

"In your dreams, my friend," Bankotsu sneered. "This one's mine."

Police sirens edged towards the park.

"Let's get moving," said Bankotsu.

By the east end of the park, Renkotsu and Jakotsu were waiting in the getaway van. If they could make it there, they were home free with their prize.

"What about the little girl she was with? Shouldn't we eliminate witnesses?" Asked Mukotsu as he looked over his shoulder at the restroom.

"No time for that. We gotta book it. Besides," said Bankotsu as he adjusted Tatsuhana's weight on his shoulder. "There's no fun in killing kids."

The sirens grew louder. Bankotsu and Mukotsu barely hid in the trees by the time police officers started pouring in through the entrance. Shouting was heard as sirens blared in the background. Park attendees were escorted out quickly. In the mad rush, nobody bothered to look in the park's maze of trees. Even with Tatsuhana weighing him down, Bankotsu carried her as he wove in out of the pines and maples. Mukotsu huffed beside him while they ran towards the eastern part of the park. Jakotsu cut a hole in the chain-link fence that would allow them to slip through and reach the van. All they had to do was run for it before the cops found them.

They ran dodging every beaten path and avoided being seen. What they didn't count on were the police dogs. Two, three, four German shepherds were let loose into the park's miniature forest. The dogs growled, barked, and howled after them. Mukotsu grabbed another gourd from the supply strapped to his waist, uncorked it, and threw it in the direction of the oncoming dogs. Pink smoke spewed forth, then suddenly the dogs were quiet save for their pathetic whines. He didn't kill them, mind you, Mukotsu just made sure the dogs wouldn't follow them.

The pair made it within a few feet of the getaway van. They could hear the rumble of an engine not too far ahead. But so also were the sounds of feet stamping down on the fallen twigs and bramble. Police weren't just gaining on them, they were right on top.

Blue uniforms burst out. Weapons drown out.

"Put the woman safely on the ground, then put your hands in the air!" One of them shouted.

Bankotsu growled. He rolled Tatsuhana off his shoulder.

"Boss!" Mukotsu saw this, and his jaw fell open in disbelief.

"We'll try again later," said Bankotsu. "We can't make an escape carrying dead weight."

Police surrounded them. Mukotsu had no choice. He reached for his belt again and threw two gourds to the ground. Police fired but shot only at the billowing smokescreen that covered the escape of the two criminals. When the smoke cleared, Tatsuhana remained on the ground, unharmed. Bankotsu and Mukotsu were nowhere to be found.  
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Tatsuhana slowly opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was fighting Bankotsu of the Band of Seven and then nothing. Her mind went black. She expected to find a dingy room with no windows and triumphant Bankotsu leered down at her. There were no chains or ropes, but wires were sticking out of her arm. She tried flexing her arm but found it numb except for her fingers. Her eyes were blurry at first. She made out a few details like clean, pastel walls, a small window, and a T.V. Her vision slowly returned to her. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't being held prisoner somewhere in an abandoned warehouse. That enough was a relief.

Piece by piece, it came together. Her vision cleared and allowed her to take in her new surroundings. She was stuck in a hospital bed. The walls she could see were painted in blue and white stripes. Looking down, she saw a white hospital gown that tied in the back. Tatsuhana found the 'call nurse' button by the bed's handrail and pressed it sharply three times. In a matter of seconds, an army of people was in her room. A couple of nurses checked her vitals. A doctor came in, followed by Detective Mayeda Tamasaburo. But what really surprised her was the entrance of none other than Toga Taisho himself.

"I'm Doctor Ennosuke, and this is Detective Tama—" The doctor started introducing himself and the detective. Still, Tatsuhana already knew who the officer of the law was. She said as much.

"I know Detective Tamasaburo. We…met before a week ago," said Tatsuhana.

"Miss Hamasaki, are you alright?" It was Toga Taisho who asked.

 _What is he doing here?_ Tatsuhana asked herself. Was it because Rin was with her when she was…?

"Wait! Where's Rin? Is she okay?" Tatsuhana nearly jumped out of bed.

Monitors blinked and bleeped as her heart rate shot up. Dr. Ennosuke and the nurses did everything they could to calm her down. Her mind was racing almost as fast as her heart.

"She's fine. Thanks to your quick thinking, she didn't get a scratch on her. I wanted to thank you personally for that. Sesshomaru is looking after her now. My concern now is for you," said Toga.

"Why?"

Dr. Ennosuke flashed a light in her eyes. Her questions were not answered until Dr. Ennosuke, and his nurses did an exam. The mysterious gas Mukotsu used had some pretty nasty side effects if police reports were anything to go by. Tatsuhana learned that she had been unconscious for over twelve hours. She looked out the tiny window to see that it was almost entirely pitch-black outside. She felt woozy and nauseous, side effects said the doctor, ones that would disappear in a day or two with some rest and easy food. Once the medical team left, that just left Detective Tamasaburo and Toga Taisho. Toga sat in the armchair by her hospital bed while the detective asked all the questions. It was awkward to have her future boss sitting there, observing silently. Still, it was also good to have a friendly face instead of being all alone.

"Did Bankotsu say anything to you?" Was Detective Tamasaburo's first question.

Tatsuhana answered as best she could from what she could remember, Bankotsu's mission was to grab her and go. He didn't ask or say anything about what was in the inn's basement. Not as if she would have had the answers anyway. She described the little details she could recall how he joked about not messing up her face too bad. Nausea ripped through her stomach at the thought of having piqued the sexual interests of a gangster. Detective Tamasaburo jotted down her report.

"That leaves a few more questions if you don't mind, Miss Hamasaki," said Tamasaburo. "Do you have any relatives in the area that you could stay with for a while?"  
Tatsuhana shook her head. "No. My parents died over half a year ago, and they were only children. I can't think of anyone I'm related to."

"Do you have any friends?"

"Maiko, but she needs to be looked after as well. A couple of weeks ago, she was spotted at this club. That's where I first saw Bankotsu. He was talking to this red-haired man, but I didn't stick around long enough to get to know his name or even the club's name."

"I see," Tamasaburo scribbled down more notes. "Did your friend see anything out of the ordinary that night?"

"I don't think so. My friend Maiko was drunk when I came to help her. Please, please, you must make sure she's okay. She's my only friend in the world. I couldn't forgive myself if something bad happened to her!"

"I'll send some officers to look after her. In the meantime, I think you should find a place to stay for yourself. Are you sure that you don't have any relatives you can stay with?"

"There is plenty of space in my home," said Toga.

Tatsuhana gaped. She turned to the man who had up to that point been perfectly quiet. Toga Taisho had a serious look on his face, brows furrowed, and mouth was drawn into a tight line. The opposite of the jovial, friendly face she met a week ago when he hired her on the spot.

"Sir," Tatsuhana started to say.

"I don't want to hear any objections. You're going to be working at my company shortly enough, and I take care of my people. On top of that, you helped Rin. You got her out of harm's way. This is the least I could do for you. There are rooms to spare, and it doesn't sound like you have any other options. Please, allow me to help you."

Her jaw hung open. Toga Tiasho made good points. She couldn't stay at the inn. That's where the Band of Seven would most likely count on her being. She had no relatives to speak of, and Maiko would probably be just another target. They'd use Maiko to get to her.

"Thank you very much, sir. I don't know how I'll repay you back," said Tatsuhana as she bowed her head towards him.

"The doctor said that you should stay overnight. Just to be sure. We'll have officers outside to keep you safe. Can I get your friend Maiko's address? I'd like to send some officers her way too?"

Tatsuhana gave Detective Tamasaburo Maiko's address as well as the law firm Maiko's father owned. The detective and Toga left shortly before visiting hours closed.

Tatsuhana tried to sleep, but it was ultimately a fruitless effort. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see Bankotsu standing at the foot of her bed.


	9. Chapter Nine

Tatsuhana gathered some clothes and stuffed them into a duffle bag. All her hair care products, bath essentials, and personal grooming items were zip locked into plastic bags of their own. Into her black backpack, she packed her art supplies. Her neighbors across the street stood on the sidewalk to gawk at the limousine parked outside her apartment complex. Thankfully, the windows were so tinted that nobody could tell who was inside. A quick glance would have sent rumors flying that she was Toga Taisho's new mistress. What else would explain why he had his very expensive limo parked in a less-than-affluent neighborhood? Tatsuhana felt a little like Cinderella climbing into the seat as the driver put her bags in the drunk. You know, if Cinderella was hiding from the mobsters instead of an evil stepmother.

"Are you sure that's everything?" Toga asked, sounding like a concerned father. It was almost touching.

She remembered her circumstances. Tatsuhana couldn't for the life of her think of a way to repay him. She wasn't rolling in dough, and she wasn't sure that her talents alone would be able to make up for his kindness.

"I don't require a whole lot. If I'm missing anything, I could just come back and get it."  
The trunk closed with a gentle thunk. It wasn't long before the limo was pulling away from the street and headed back towards downtown.

"Would you mind answering some questions for me, Miss Hamasaki?"

"Not at all," she said.

"Do you know what the Band of Seven wants to get into the inn's basement?"

Tatsuhana shook her head. "Not a clue. I've been down there hundreds of times. There's nothing important. Just some old furniture and forgotten, dusty books."

"Are you aware of the local legend surrounding your inn? Did your parents talk to you about it?" Toga leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His fingers were knitted together as he rested them against his chin. His eyes stared at her.

Tatsuhana could not pin the kind of look he was giving her. His glance wasn't harsh or demanding, just inquisitive. There wasn't something serious about his gaze that made her think he knew something. Thinking back, she sighed.

"My mother refused to believe any of it, but then again she married into the business. She wasn't from around here. She always thought it was some old wives' tale. My father, on the other hand, said he experienced things happening around the property. He grew up with the tales."

"Oh? Like what?

She couldn't tell if Toga was just being curious or trying to fill the void of quiet. It was going to be a rather long car ride from her apartment to his house. By the sound of his voice, however, he made it seem like he knew something she didn't.

After tucking that piece of information away for later, Tatsuhana continued.

"The land where the inn was built on is supposedly haunted. First, it was supposedly built on top of some gateway to the netherworld. Then, in the 13th century, someone built a temple to Izanami but was later burned to the ground because local priests thought it was an ill omen and an insult to the other gods. Around the 16th century, someone built a castle despite the plot of land being so cursed. The warlord was a madman whose ghost supposedly haunts the cellar below the basement."

"There's a cellar beneath the basement?" Asked Toga.

"Yes, but nobody's allowed to go down there. It's not safe, and nobody's ever wanted to fix the rickety staircase leading down. If I had the money, I'd seal it up to keep people safe. It's not being used for anything, and it's a safety hazard."

"There's a ghost in there? Is that all?"

Tatsuhana shrugged her shoulders.

"I think as a child I snuck down there. Or tried to. My mother caught me before I reached the third step. Why do you ask?"

"Just trying to figure out what the Band of Seven is looking for. I'll have some of my sources investigate as those trouble-makers seem adamant about getting to whatever is hidden under your basement. If that's alright with you?"

"Do whatever you think is best. I honestly don't know what they're looking for, but if you have people who can figure it, have at it."

The rest of the ride was taken up by a slightly uncomfortable silence. Eventually, the limo pulled up into a courtyard in one of the city's more beautiful neighborhoods. The driver went around to the passenger door and opened it for them. Tatsuhana had seen big, fancy before. The inn itself was pretty stylish and up to date, but she'd never seen something like this up close and personal. She tried not to let her jaw hang open like some awestruck peasant. It had tall windows all over it's front and a balcony accessible from the inside. A security guard stood inside a small hut outside the enormous iron gates. As she walked up to the immaculate porch, Tatsuhana's eyes caught sight of two tiny cameras that whirred and buzzed. A small red light blinked at her. At least she could rest easy knowing that she was more secure than in her apartment. The driver carried her bags to the porch.

"Oh, sorry. Thank you."

Toga guided her through the wide double doors and into the foyer. A being as old as he, Tatsuhana, expected to find a more traditional Japanese house. The inside was just as Western as the outside. The foyer was the picture of Western opulence. To one side, another pair of double doors led into a parlor room of sorts; to the other, a single door, possibly an office. An elderly figure descended the grand staircase. Her hair was gray all over, and she wore an eye patch. Her clothes were well kept but not particularly expensive-looking. Her hair looked like it was pulled into a ponytail at the base of her skull.

"This is Kaede. She's our housekeeper and manager of the household staff. She pretty much runs the place. Whatever you need, don't be afraid to ask either her or me."

Tatsuhana bowed from the waist. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Kaede reached the bottom of the staircase at last. Her back was already bent forward, most likely from her age; her bow was simply a dip of her head.

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you your room."

Kaede bent to pick up Tatsuhana's bags, but the latter took matters into her own hands.

"No, please. I'll take them up myself. There's no need. Thank you, though," she said quickly. And hoped that she didn't accidentally hurt Kaede's feelings in the process.

"Thank goodness. My back has been killing me all day. This way, please."

Tatsuhana followed behind Kaede up the grand staircase and turned left. Her long legs would have made it easy to speed ahead of the little old lady, but she considered it rude, and she wanted to know the basic layout of the guest hall before she made a fool of herself. Tatsuhana didn't know how long she would be staying, but considering that it was the Band of Seven interested in whatever her parents failed to warn her about in the basement, it might be an extended stay. Toga's generosity seemed too good to be true.

Kaede opened the door to a room second to last at the end of the corridor. Tatsuhana had to brush aside her, being careful with her bags, to get into the room. She tried not to let her jaw hang open too much for fear of looking like an idiot. Tucked in one corner was a four-poster canopy bed on which hung wispy curtains of nearly sheer white fabric. The bed coverings looked cozy and warm, as well as worth more than most of her own furnishings in her apartment. There was a mountain of pillows, more pillows that she could possibly need. She could probably use one pillow for every night of her stay and never had to reuse one. By the tall windows, a writing desk had a comfy high-backed chair sitting in front of it. There was a boudoir, a vanity mirror attached to a large dresser, and an armchair. There was also a platinum screen T.V above the fireplace mantel, a velvet footstool, and imported rugs that covered the floor from corner to corner. Tatsuhana had to tilt her neck all the way back to see how tall the ceiling really was. A chandelier of all things hung down. She expected it to be gold and shining with little crystals, but no. It was rather dull comparatively; just some metal and wood.

"I think this room is bigger than my apartment," said Tatsuhana.

"Right through here, you have the bathroom."

Tatsuhana put her bags on the bed and followed Kaede to the room just beyond a painted blue door. She was met with white marble tiles for the floor. The sink was carved into a shell that almost matched the shape of the claw-footed tub and shower. The white cabinet, Kaede explained, held all the towels, which were changed out at least once a day when guests stayed. The sink was stocked full of toiletries like hand soap that smelled abundantly of lilac. There was even a drawer with feminine products for Tatsuhana's use should she need them. The only concern was the door on the other side of the room. It was a pale blue door precisely like the one in her room.

"Is this a shared bathroom?" She asked.

It wasn't that she was all that shy about sharing a bathroom space as long as it was well coordinated. However, considering recent events, Tatushana voted to have as much privacy as possible, and a shared bathroom offered none of that.

"It is. Very astute of you. Don't worry, though. There's currently no one using the guest room through that door. You'll have the place all to yourself."

Tatsuhana nodded with gratitude. They ducked out of the bathroom.

"I'll leave you to get settled. I'm told you've been recently released from the hospital. I hope nothing serious."

"No, I'm fine. Mostly."

Mr. Taisho is a very generous man for a demon. You're not the first person to have been a victim of his caring nature."

"Victim?" Now Kaede had struck Tatsuhana's curiosity.

"Mr. Taisho can be…a bit overzealous. For a demon, his heart is too big. If not for his wife's patience and my prudence, he would let anyone who asked waltz in and out of here, taking silverware and knickknacks out the door with them. He would probably let them too. Sometimes I fear that his goodness might lead to his downfall."

Kaede told her that dinner would be on the table at seven sharp, but if she didn't feel like eating with the family, she could arrange for something to be brought up. She shut the door softly behind her and left Tatsuhana to unpack. There were too many drawers for her to use. The dresser was so big she fit everything she had into one drawer. Because she was assured that she had run of the bathroom, she left her hairbrush and other things in the toilet, familiarly arranging them. Upon getting that finished, Tatsuhana pulled out a small box from her backpack that she tried to tend with extra care. Opening it, she put the glass-framed photo of her parents on the bedside table.

Unlacing her boots, Tatsuhana curled up on the bed. She grabbed one of the dozen throw pillows and hugged it to her chest. It provided a little comfort but not quite enough; it was the least. Her eyelids quickly became cumbersome. Was it physical exertion or emotional exhaustion? Either way, Tatsuhana was fast asleep before very long.

She woke up to the sound of knocking at her door. It was Kaede.

"I was sent to tell you that dinner is ready if you want to come down."

Tatsuhana looked out the window. The sky was dark orange and was slowly creeping towards night. She slipped on a pair of house slippers, combed her hair, and answered the door.

"I hope it's a casual dinner. I'm not exactly dressed for the occasion."

Kaede took her down to the dining room. The setting was far more casual than Tatsuhana thought it would be. Toga sat at the head of the table with his suit jacket hanging off the back like he'd just gotten off work. His wife sat at the other end, but as soon as she saw Tatsuhana enter, she stood and helped her into a seat. The meal wasn't very lavish, at least by a rich person's standards. She ate all the while quietly, hoping she wasn't making too much of a fuss. Mister and Missus chatted with each other when it appeared that Tatsuhana wasn't interested in conversations today. Then, Mrs. Taisho said the oddest thing.

"My seamstress called earlier to say that my dress is ready."

"Ready for what?" Toga barely looked above his steak.

"The party…Friday," Izayoi's voice trailed. "I forgot about the party Friday!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Hamasaki. My wife's right. We have an engagement this Friday night. With all that has been going on, it slipped my mind."

"But you're more than welcome to join us if you'd like," finished Izayoi.

Tatsuhana politely shook her head. "It's thoughtful, but I've hosted too many parties at the inn to really care for joining one. Besides, I'm not really a party person anyway. I doubt the noise will bother me too much."

With that, the meal concluded later in silence. Tatsuhana thanked them for the meal and journeyed back to her room, where she took a long, hot shower with both bathroom doors locked. She wasn't taking any chances. Changing into some proper pajamas, Tatsuhana slipped under the covers. The silky smooth of the blankets and sheets belied the warmth she was wrapped in once she found a spot comfortable enough for her to sleep in.

When she woke up, Tatsuhana had discovered that Mr. Taisho had already left for work, and his wife went about her business doing errands and charity work. Aside from the numerous staff members, Tatsuhana was left alone to her own devices. Kaede offered to give her a proper tour of the house while things were quiet and peaceful. With nothing better to do, Tatsuhana agreed.

She didn't know what she did in a past life to deserve to sit in the lap of luxury. Mr. Taisho had spared no expense in building this house. From the vaulted ceilings to the marble floors, to the Persian rugs and the indoor swimming pool, there wasn't a thing that a guest could be left without. Tatsuhana tried not to gawk at it all or show slight disgust how gruesomely rich Mr. Taisho was. Of course, if one was a demon, you would have learned how to invest your money and hoard it away somewhere for use. Towards the back of the house, it looked more traditional. There was a sudden shift between one world and another. Marble tiles gave way to plain wooden floors, and a rice-paper screen created new scenes. Kaede let her see the traditional study Mr. Taisho used when he was feeling nostalgic. But the room that caught Tatsuhana's attention was the dojo.

Kaede pulled back the shoji doors to reveal an ample space. There was some modern exercise equipment, but they were tucked away in the back corner. The shoji doors on the other side led out into the garden, where she heard wind chimes and fountains in the background. Wooden practice swords were neatly displayed next to older Japanese swords, both katana, and pre-Feudal Era designs. Tatsuhana was impressed. It reminded her so much of her father's collection, though he was more fond of naginata and spears than swords.

"I...I would hate to be a bother, but do you have a spare gi laying around?" Tatsuhana had walked up to one of the shelves displaying the practice swords.

Being so close felt uncomfortably nostalgic. It was like being at home again. She wished that she could turn around and see her father standing behind her. But that was a dream within a dream.

"Gi? You wish to practice with those old things? I didn't realize that you were trained in swordsmanship, Miss," said Kaede.

"I'm not. Not where it counts. It's a family tradition for the girls in my family to learn swordsmanship and how to wield weapons, going back to when the inn used to be a castle. Wives and daughters were left behind to defend the homestead themselves. Dad and I practiced almost every day every school until his arthritis started kicking in."

"In that case, let me see what I can do."

Before Tatsuhana could protest and prevent Kaede from making a fuss, the little old lady had already disappeared somewhere, presumably to find suitable clothes. While she was gone, Tatsuhana had a chance to look around the room more. She kept her hands to herself though she felt tempted to take a sword off the shelf. She wasn't an expert in weaponry, but she could appreciate the craftsmanship. Lacquered sheaths looked like polished stone and made her afraid to touch them with her dirty peasant hands. Knowing that Toga Taisho was a centuries-old demon, most of the swords on display might have been from when he was but a pup.

Kaede turned up again with more traditional clothes for Tatsuhana to change into. She helped her change into the kimono and hakama.

"It isn't exactly what you requested, but I thought this would make you comfortable. You're more than welcome to use the wooden swords. However, I recommend you ask the master of the house if you may practice with steel. The other swords hold much more value to him than the ones used for practice."

Kaede left quietly, possibly to attend some business of her own. Tatsuhana took one of the practice swords for herself. It had been almost two years since she last held one in her hands. The dojo which her family used was much smaller and was always freezing. Her father would practice with her until the biting cold became too much for him. Tatsuhana smiled softly to herself as she held the sword. She walked a few paces ahead and brought herself into a near-perfect stance.

She drew her breath inward and pushed it out slowly before she started cutting through the air.  
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Sesshomaru was not pleased. He grimaced on the way to his father's estate. The whole way, he was unable to hide his sneering appearance. The staff jumped out of his way. He was liable to kill someone with that sort of face. When he arrived, he didn't bother to wait for his driver to fetch the door for him. Sesshomaru opened it and started storming towards the front door. Jaken clambered behind him as he tried his best to keep up with Sesshomaru's long strides using only his tiny legs.

"M'lord! Please wait for me!"

He did not.

Sesshomaru let himself in with a spare key and almost slammed it closed on Jaken's face. Kaede, who had grown old enough to get used it when Sesshomaru's bad mood reared its ugly head, didn't bother to bat an eyelash in his direction.

"What brings you home, Mr. Taisho?"

"I would like to speak to Tatsuhana," he growled. He looked around the parlor without even asking.

"She's in the dojo if you must know."  
"Why is she in there?" Sesshomaru asked.

"I was giving her a tour, and our last stop was the dojo. She mentioned she used to practice swordsmanship with her father, so I gave her some spare clothes and let her be. She's been practicing—"

Sesshomaru didn't stop to listen to any more prattle. He stormed his way to the back of the house where the dojo was located. He expected to see a fumbling woman trying to swing a sword, but was shocked by her perfect stance. She was so focused on her practice that she did not hear him push the doors aside.

Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail that swished back and forth whenever she made a wide arch with her practice sword. Sesshomaru quietly entered and watched from afar. Upon closer inspection, her stance and movements were nearly perfect. He had not expected as much from an art student. Her breathing was tuned into her activity; she wasn't an amateur swinging a sword for the first time.

After a few minutes, Sesshomaru almost forgot what he came in here for. He scolded himself for becoming preoccupied with watching Tatsuhana's body move in that fluid motion through her stances. He came here to talk.

He cleared his throat. Tatsuhana skidded to a halt and nearly landed on her face for the trouble. She whipped around to finally see him.

"W-what are you doing here?"

She wiped the sweat from her brow. Sesshomaru had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from disturbing thoughts. She was a little red in the face from the exercise, and sweat beaded down her brow and neck. She was wearing an old hand-me-down of his, not that he would say anything. He couldn't say anything about it without resisting (and losing) the urge to say that she looked good in his clothes. The thought churned his stomach while it made his heartbeat just a little bit faster.

"I was about to say the same thing to you."

"Your father gave me access to nearly every room in his house. I don't see the harm of using his dojo. I'm not going to break or steal anything if that's what you're worried about."

"I've come to talk to you about your undue influence on Rin," said Sesshomaru, immediately changing the subject.

Tatsuhana's brows furrowed. "I'm sorry?"

"Her teacher called me today saying that Rin, who is normally happy, sullen and morose. When I asked her about it, she said that she was sad because she couldn't see her friend 'Hana' anymore. I assumed she meant you."

"What do you mean she couldn't see me anymore? What on earth did you say to her?"  
T  
atsuhana's grip on the sword tightened.

"While you were in the hospital, I told her that in no uncertain terms that you were going to see her. You put her in danger by refusing to report that the Band of Seven had shown up to your workplace and threatened you. Had you said anything at all, I would never have left her in your care."

Tatsuhana's jaw dropped. On the one hand, she could see his point. He was Rin's father, after all. He had the right to know if anyone in Tatsuhana's life could put Rin in danger. Tatsuhana had been either incredibly stupid or naive to think that Bankotsu wouldn't try to find her outside of work. She still hadn't decided which.

On the other hand, Sesshomaru had no right to speak to her like that or to deny Rin completely of her company. She couldn't care about her own personal feelings, but Rin would be the one to suffer the most. She had few friends her own age and so little time outside of school. It's not as if Sesshomaru's corporate dominating schedule allowed him to make more time for his daughter. Perhaps it was Tatsuhana's sympathies for the girl that made her angry. At least her own father took the time to spend with her; he understood the value of being there for his child. What did Sesshomaru know?

"How was I supposed to know I would be followed? Getting harassed by street gangs isn't a normal occurrence for me. I didn't expect them to—"

"To what? Follow through with their threats? Who is to say that the next you will be so lucky? If not for the perfect timing of the police, you would be holed up in an abandoned warehouse by now, molested or beaten to an inch of your life!"

Tatsuhana's blush disappeared from her face as the blood drained from her cheeks. She didn't need to be reminded of the what-ifs. Bankotsu had already made it clear that he didn't intend to use her just for information. When she fell asleep at night, she could still feel him groping her breast and his hot breath on her neck. She ground her teeth together. Oh, the explicit details she would go into what she wished to do to him right now.

"I was naive and stupid, alright! What else do you want me to say? I didn't expect them to know where I lived, and it's not like I've been public with my third job. I haven't gone to anyone to talk about my job, babysitting Rin. It's possible they followed me, but from my apartment to your penthouse and then taking the bus to the park—"

"You made Rin take public transportation?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, we rode the bus to get to the park. And you know what happened? Nothing! She didn't catch the plague or get hit on by a creep. I don't have a car, so how did you expect us to get there?"

"At any rate," Sesshomaru grimaced, "She's upset now because I refuse to let her see you."

"What do you want me to do about that? If anything, whatever I say would make you look even more like the bad guy. Do I regret putting her in danger? Yes, there won't be a day that'll go by when I forget that. Do I think you're being an ass for keeping her away? Yes, absolutely. She has so few friends as it is and doesn't get to see you often. She's an affection-starved child who wants to be treated like a person, not an accessory you show off now and then. You can't buy her love with stuffed toys for the rest of her life!"

Sesshomaru took one solemn step forward. Automatically, he reached for one of the practice swords sitting a stand. He hadn't meant to do it; it was like his body was reacting without his knowledge. Force of habit, one could say.

Tatsuhana never left her spot. She moved her feet and arms into a defensive position. If that was how they were going to solve their problems, then so be it.

"You're barely old enough to get married, yet you lecture me on how to be a parent?" He seethed.

"You don't need to be one to see that Rin is lonely."

This was the first time Sesshomaru allowed words to get to him. Words from a small, insignificant mortal woman. It wasn't her words alone that made his feet move. He kicked off his shoes and ran towards her using a quarter of his demonic strength. His aim was to teach her a lesson, not kill her. He made a wide arch, hoping to catch her shoulder and send her down to his feet where she belonged.

Instead, she blocked it. Sesshomaru couldn't tell whether he should be impressed or infuriated. Either way, he swung again. And again. And again.

Each time, Tatsuhana blocked or parried or dove out of his range. She had either been lying to him or concealed her training this whole time out of some festering humility. Her defense was not perfect by any means. Had he actually been so desperate to beat her, he would have taken one of several openings she left for him. If this was a real fight, she would have been dead by now.

Still, it was impressive that she could even keep up with him. Very few managed to get that far.

He took such an opening when they locked swords. They pushed at each other, but neither gave way. Sesshomaru wasn't always above dirty tactics. His need to put her in her place outweighed his sense of honor. He hooked his foot around her ankle and yanked his leg back.

He saw the shock in her eyes as she became unbalanced. She landed backward. Unfortunately, she took him with her in the fall. Tatsuhana had grabbed his jacket lapel and dragged him with her. He had the sense to drop his sword, open both palms, and embrace for impact. Both were a panting mess on the floor.

Sesshomaru's hands caged her head. His hair, let loose today, fell around them. His gold eyes stared into her green ones. Her face was red again with effort and exertion, and perhaps something else. Sesshomaru swallowed hard past the lump building in his throat. The rest of the world outside those four walls disappeared. For a moment, it was them alone in the universe.  
Perhaps it was the anger or the adrenaline. Who knows? Tatsuhana tried to crawl out from under him, but he pinned her wrist down. Tatsuhana swallowed this time as her cheeks turned redder.

"S-Sessho—"

"I'll...come back later."

Both of their heads whipped towards the still very open doors that Sesshomaru left unattended and unguarded. They made it just in time to see Mrs. Taisho, his stepmother, that is to say, trying to avoid making a scene. Tatsuhana pushed Sesshomaru away from and scrambled to her feet.

"Wait, Mrs. Taisho, it's not what you think!" She called after her.

Sesshomaru got to his feet far more gracefully than Tatsuhana did. He brushed off his clothes and started to tidy up. He picked up the practice swords to put them back where they belonged. He set hers aside, but when he glanced at the sword he'd been using, he noticed an odd feature that surely wasn't there before. There in the blade, he found a large fracture. It looked too new. He looked at her sword again. There were smaller fractures where she managed to block his attacks. But the split on his sword meant one thing and one thing only.

Tatsuhana was much stronger than she looked.


	10. Chapter Ten

Sesshomaru was forced to attend and brought Rin along. His parents insisted he bring her with him at least for a little while. They had not seen their only grandchild in a few since the incident at the park. Sesshomaru couldn't deny them either, not without having to hear his father complain at the company for weeks on end. He caught the scent of Tatsuhana as she sneaked around the buffet table in nothing but some sweatpants, a baggy t-shirt, and flip-flops. He noticed the large dark gray smudge on her cheek. She had her hair pulled by back with a large clip, but several strands hung loose against her neck and shoulders. Guests quickly noticed her by her lack of decorum and mannerisms. They became extra curious when Mr. Taisho himself presented her with a bottle of wine, which she graciously took upstairs with her.   
Sesshomaru watched her leave the party without a fuss on her part. Tatsuhana didn't seem to have noticed how much attention she drew to herself. If she had just put effort into her appearance, then perhaps she would have gone unnoticed.

One didn't need preternatural hearing to know that the guests were suddenly now less interested in what they were gathered here for. The recent acquirement of a certain publishing company. Rumors had it that the company, despite its championing novelist carrying the business on their shoulders, was doomed to go under. Taisho Incorporated dealt mostly with technology, travel, and social networking and platforming. Their business adventures wouldn't have crossed in many fields. Yet, Toga Taisho insisted. Some feared that the already millionaire was looking into controlling Japan's entertainment industry, though there wasn't any evidence of that.

"Sesshomaru?" It was his step-mother.

Mrs. Toga hadn't mentioned the scene she walked in on earlier that week. Her husband showed no sign that he had been told the story either or was more discreet in his knowledge of it. Toga asked nothing, but that didn't mean it was safe to presume his ignorance.

"Yes, Izayoi?"

"Is something wrong? I've never seen you stare so intently into space."

"I don't know what you mean," he deflected.

Izayoi chuckled. "You should just tell her that you're attracted to her. The worst thing she can do is reject you. Surely, your pride isn't so sensitive to be crushed by a human?"

Sesshomaru frowned. He scanned the room to find Rin sitting on her grandfather's lap. It was almost her bedtime; he should be collecting her and getting her ready to go to sleep.

"Do you miss her?" Izayoi asked.

"Miss who?"

"You know who. It might have been an arranged marriage, but you were fond of your wife, weren't you? You cared enough to continue doting on the daughter you adopted. Rin isn't related by blood, but you love her like she was your own flesh."

Sesshomaru chomped down on his tongue. It would be pointless to continued holding a conversation with her. Izayoi's greatest flaw was her sentimentality. She carried it with her through the process of becoming whatever it was she became. She shed her humanity to stay by his father's side. A foolish thing to do, really. He never understood it: why his father allowed it and what was the price they paid for it. Becoming practically immortal and staying young and beautiful was not cheap.

But that was not his problem.  
Sesshomaru navigated through the crowd before Izayoi could get another word in. He found his father and daughter on the sofa, talking with each other. Rin still looked dejected. They both stopped talking when he approached.

"It's almost time for Rin to be in bed."

"Bedtime already?" Toga sighed.

"Yes. Come along, Rin." He held his hand out to her.

Yawning, Rin climbed off and took his hand. She must have been too tired to put up a fuss. She took her bath and changed into her pajamas without any annoying demands like for a second bedtime story. For convenience, they would be staying at his father's house for the night. Rin crawled under the covers by herself while Sesshomaru took a book and opened it up. She was already fast asleep before he was halfway through. Moving as quiet as a mouse, he put away the book, turned off the lights, and walked softly out of the room. Sesshomaru walked two steps before his superior demon hearing picked up a sound coming from one of the other guest rooms.

Most of the time, he was not a curious person. There should have been a hundred percent chance that he would walk away and rejoin the party. Against his better judgment, Sesshomaru found himself breaking open the guest room door. He stepped across the threshold and saw Tatsuhana ripping blankets off the bed. There was a giant red stain in the middle. On the floor stood a nearly empty bottle of wine. Tatsuhana immediately twisted her head in his direction, and her cheeks flushed red as the mess she made.

"I swear I'm not nearly this clumsy."

She folded the blanket messily in her arms and groaned at the stain that bled into the sheets below.

"How much have you had to drink tonight?" He brushed past her and started removing the sheets for her.

"I don't like what you're implying. I'm not drunk. I haven't even had a whole glass yet."

"Follow me," was all he said.

They padded down the hall to the laundry shute where the sullied blankets were thrown down. Sesshomaru showed her a hall closet stocked completely with clean sheets and blankets. The previous bedspread had soaked up enough of the wine to prevent the mattress from being stained. Against every characterization of his, Sesshomaru helped her make her bed. Once finished, Tatsuhana picked up the bottle and chugged the remaining part in one swish.

"I would have pictured you to be more of a sake drinker," said Sesshomaru.

Tatsuhana made a face and shook her head. "I honestly can't stand the smell of sake anymore. It's pretty much all we serve at the inn. Customers are always asking me to have a drink with them. Sometimes they're too pushy to brush off, and I have to take a sip."

"That doesn't sound very professional of you."

"They would be insulted otherwise. If I take a sip and fake it, they leave knowing that their host enjoys their patronage. It's better for business."  
He took the bottle from her hand.

They both started to walk down the hall. Sesshomaru was supposed to rejoin the party below, and it appeared that Tatsuhana was looking to score another bottle. Downstairs, Sesshomaru pulled her off to the side and said he would find something for her if she waited there. Tatsuhana shrugged her shoulders as he disappeared around the corner. Tatsuhana was left alone to wait impatiently for her wine.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice you earlier."

What a bold man to walk up to a person dressed like her. Tatsuhana looked at him and knew his face. Miroku Kazaana, the famous, and infamous, author to a small number of books she kept in her bedside table. Beside him was a much older man with a plump frame. Tatsuhana looked down at her clothes. Besides this, she was also much taller than either gentleman.

"Yeah. I tend to stand out a lot."

"Can I ask for your name and how you come to be here? Are you a cousin or distant relative of Mrs. Toga?"

"Uh, my name's Tatsuhana Hamasaki. I'm just a guest here. I'm not related to anybody," she answered with honesty.

"This is my friend and personal assistant, Mushin Fujimoto. I'm—"

"Miroku Kazaana, I know. Aren't you the guy who writes all that smut?" She smirked.

"Young lady!" The old man blushed.

"Now, now, Mushin, she's not wrong."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend."

"It really isn't personal. I've heard worse. At least you're not a book critic. Are you?"

"No, but I do have a couple of your books. Though to be honest, you should fire your cover artist. It makes your books look cliché," said Tatsuhana.

"Really now?" Miroku was now thoroughly interested in the conversation. "What makes them cliché, in your opinion?"

"They look like those cheap American romance novels you can buy in the grocery store. The female models are always posed scantily clad, while the male model is still mostly clothed. They're posed unrealistically. Half of the time, they look strictly photoshopped because some poses are humanly impossible. Most of the time, the couple doesn't even look like the ones described in the book."

"You seem to know what you're talking about. Are you an artist by any chance?"  
Tatsuhana smiled. Reel him in.

"As a matter of fact—"

Sesshomaru picked the wrong time to suddenly appear behind her. Just when she was about to pitch her work, he appeared with a bottle of champagne. He glanced from her to Miroku and then back to her.  
"Is this man bothering you, Mrs. Hamasaki?"

"No, we were just talking about his cover art." She snatched the bottle from him. "Thank you. You're free to go."

"I'm sorry I didn't realize you were married."

There was a clear look of disappointment on his face. Tatsuhana glared at Sesshomaru from over her shoulder. She wasn't particularly interested in starting a relationship with a man known for his womanizing ways, but he could have very well been a busy partner. If it helped her situation to be single, well, then so be it.

"I'm not. It's my professional name. I use it at my day job, so people will take me more seriously. It's rather difficult when you're twenty-one and look the way I do."  
Miroku smiled immediately. His spirits were lifted by her words.

"Allow my friend to give you my business card. We can chat later about cover art," said Miroku.

Mushin dug into his jacket pocket and retrieved a little white case. Within, it held a stack of business cards. He handed her one, and the pair returned to the party. Tatsuhana smiled at herself as she read the card. _Miroku Kazaana. Author and Blogger._ If she could show him potential cover art prints, she'll be in the business. Cover art wasn't exactly going to get her a gallery exhibition, but it was a start.

"Did you know that he was trying to flirt with you? I didn't think you were that stupid," said Sesshomaru.

"If it gets my art out into the public eye, he can flirt and call me anything he wanted. Within reason. And it's not as if I'd sleep with him to do any of that. I have standards." She started to walk towards the staircase. 

"Thanks for the champagne."

Sesshomaru tried to follow her up, but his better judgment finally kicked in. He would be missed at the party by his father, step-mother, and the rest. He had no reason to follow her. What if he did go after her? Then what? What was his next step? Finish what they started in the dojo? The smell of her sweat lingered in his senses, and he still remembered how the flecks of gold in her green eyes flared when she stared up at him while he had her pinned. It would be a lie to say that he didn't enjoy having her beneath him. He couldn't decide whether it was because he liked putting her where he thought she belonged, under him, or if some dormant desire blossomed. Tatsuhana was tall compared to many Japanese women, humans, and demons together. She had a physically fit frame and usually walked with an air of practiced grace. Despite knowing she was an artist and no doubt spent many hours hunched over, her shoulders were always steady and straight.

There were dark circles under her eyes now. He'd been told she was eating less despite having more access to food than when she lived alone on a college student budget. It didn't bother him as it had only been a day or two, though he was concerned that it might become a habit. Sesshomaru returned to the party.

He got himself a drink and knocked it back in one go. It would take a lot more than that to get him drunk, although he could feel a slight tingle in the back of his brain. His step-mother saw him and already made a beeline for him. He couldn't only step away and hide somewhere, nor could he make a scene. Instead, Sesshomaru prepared for the worst.

"Sesshomaru, how did it go with Rin?" She asked.

Sesshomaru nearly sighed with relief.

"She went right to sleep. Thank you for asking."

He was about to turn and walk away, but she continued with her questions.

"And Tatsuhana? How is she? I saw you with a bottle of champagne just a few moments ago. I assume it was for her."

Sesshomaru inhaled sharply through his nose.  
"She spilled her wine earlier and came down for something else. She didn't want any sake, so I gave her a bottle of that instead."

"But how is she doing? She's not terribly overwhelmed, is she?"

"I think she's handling her crisis in her own way," said Sesshomaru.

His stomach made an uncomfortable flip. He wasn't sure that drinking was necessarily the best way for her to cope, but if he said anything, it would seem that he had feelings. Sesshomaru remembered that she put Rin in danger. And her attitude? It was difficult for him to believe that she could run something as classy as an inn by herself and be the head of staff. She was temperamental, stubborn, and naïve. Stupid could be a word, but it sounded too harsh. To him, Tatsuhana did what she thought was best and didn't give a second thought about her actions or how they affected others. She was wickedly snarky and didn't know when to hold her tongue. He hated that face she made whenever she was angry. Tatsuhana's brows scrunched up, and her eyes would narrow, he hated that face.

However, why was he so determined to make sure she made that face for him?

Izayoi furrowed her brows as she frowned at him. "That's really an answer. She's going through a lot, the poor dear. We should be trying to make sure she's doing alright. It can't be easy having this on her mind so soon after the death of her parents."

"Forgive me, but I do not have the privilege of being a bleeding heart."

Toga appeared behind his wife shortly after the last syllable left Sesshomaru's mouth. He kissed Izayoi's temple then turned a hard gaze on Sesshomaru.

"What seems to be the problem?" He looked between Izayoi and Sesshomaru.

It had been no secret that Sesshomaru disliked the woman. He outright hated her the moment he found out that they figured a way around her pesky mortality and got married. To this day—although his ire settled down—he thought his father a complete fool for divorcing his mother. Izayoi made him soft.

"We were discussing our house guest. I was asking about Tatsuhana to see how she's doing."

"And how is she?" Asked Toga, looking at Sesshomaru.

"I saw her discussing cover art with your new golden goose, Mr. Kazaana. She seemed interested in some kind of business venture with him. He looked more interested in her; dare I say."

One of Toga's brows shot up. There was something in Sesshomaru's tone that gave cause for alarm. Whenever Sesshomaru talked about an ex-girlfriend or the boyfriend of a female colleague, he never spoke outside of a neutral tone. When mentioned Miroku Kazaana's name just now, there was a bit of venom in there. He'd known the other man for a matter of hours, and it usually took more than that for Sesshomaru to grow to hate someone. Which was why his tone surprised his father so much. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, hadn't noticed his mistake until he saw the curious look on Toga's face.

"What? Was there something I said?"

Toga gave him a little smirk. "You like her, don't you?"

Sesshomaru stared at his father, deadpanned. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You had me fooled for a second there, boy," Toga shrugged his shoulders, "but you'll have to work harder to get one past your old man. You made it sound like you were jealous of Mr. Kazaana for talking to her. I know he has something of a reputation, but I wouldn't have bought out his publishing house and made him my first star author if I thought he would be capable of something terrible."

"I am not jealous." Sesshomaru immediately set down his glass somewhere before he smashed it with his bare hand.

Toga smiled, which served only to infuriate Sesshomaru all the more. The latter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You're just as bad as my mother," he said and stormed off as subtle as possible.

Sesshomaru left the party an hour before it was over. His head was pounding by the time he reached his room. He shoved himself through the door and started tearing off his clothes. He discarded his necktie and jacket on the desk chair. The rest he left in a hamper and his shoes on a rack in the closet. Sesshomaru walked into the shower to scrub the day off his skin. When he got out, it didn't escape his attention that there was noise coming from the other side of the door. Not the one leading his bedroom, but the entrance to the conjoining room.

Wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, Sesshomaru dared to open the other door. A cool breeze blasted him with night air, and he realized that someone must have left their window open wide. He knotted the towel at his hip to ensure there were no slip-ups and brazenly entered without announcing his presence.

He found her face down in the bed with colored pencils scattered over the blanket. In Tatsuhana's hand, she clutched an empty bottle of champagne. Sesshomaru looked around the room and found her drooling on her sketchpad. She fell asleep drunk with her window open. She was lucky she was on the third floor in a house with security cameras. He doubted she would be safe had she done it at her apartment. He closed the balcony windows, locked it, and shoved the curtains together. Next, he went to work, clearing up the bedspread. Sesshomaru put away the art supplies and put them on the desk. Tatsuhana was knocked out. She hardly noticed him pulling her under the covers. She made no resistance even in her sleep. Yanking the bottle free from her grasp, he put it in the wastebasket.Sesshomaru returned to his room, hoping that she would never know.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He walked himself down to breakfast around nine o'clock when he heard a strange conversation.

"I slept well, I guess…but I had the weirdest dream." It was Tatsuhana.

"What about?" Asked Izayoi.

"I dreamed…. about a smell. When I woke up this morning, I had this scent in my nose. Like a, uh, cologne, or body spray, or maybe it was shampoo. I don't know where it came from, but I smelled it after I fell asleep and woke up with it in my nose. Now I can't stop thinking about it."

"That is odd. Maybe Sesshomaru has something to do with it?"

"Why's that?"

"Well, he is staying in the room next to yours. I forgot to mention that."

There was a clatter like metal hitting solid wood.

"Speaking of which, I think I see him now," said Toga this time.

Sesshomaru couldn't run. He entered the dining room to see Tatsuhana's face bright red. She looked at him with blushing cheeks before quickly looking away. It would probably be better if he didn't mention that he was practically naked while he put her to bed. She would have exploded if she knew he walked around her room in nothing but a towel.

"I merely helped her to bed last night after she passed out. I found her on the bed with an empty bottle. I didn't want her to sleep like that. It was unseemly to look at," he said.

He watched Tatsuhana shove a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth. Most unladylike. She glared at him from across the table. A maid brought him his breakfast, and he sipped from his coffee mug like her heated glare phased him not.

"Like you look like Prince Charming while you sleep," Tatsuhana snarked.

"That may be true, but at least I don't snore like a dragon."

Luckily, she had already chewed and swallowed her food; it would have been an unpleasant sight if she still had food when her jaw hit the floor. Tatsuhana angrily put down her fork.

"I do not snore like a dragon! I don't snore at all."

"Oh, really? Because that's the sound I heard through the door when I got out of the shower last night. I was wondering why there was a continental subduction going on in the conjoining room."

"Yeah…well, your face is…dumb." Tatsuhana stood up but left the rest of her food uneaten.

"Smooth as always, Sesshomaru," said Toga as he flipped open his newspaper. "Very smooth."


	11. Chapter Eleven

Tatsuhana wiped the sweat from her brow. She lowered her arms and placed the wooden practice back on the wall. Her muscles were not used to the exercise anymore. It had been over a year since she picked one up, a few years since she practiced with her dad and several months since she did any exercise at all outside of biking. Of course, biking everyone was more a matter of necessity than choice. Cars were expensive. Even with two jobs, she wouldn't have been able to afford filling it up, maintaining it, or cover the insurance. Where would she put anyway? There weren't a lot of spaces in her neighborhood. 

She climbed into the shower in the guest room. The hot water soothed every ache in her body. When she climbed out, her phone rang on the bed, where she left it. Tatsuhana stepped out of the bathroom wearing roomy sweatpants, a tank top, and a towel turban around her head. She picked up her phone, which was blaring her friend's caller ID ringtone. Tatsuhana answered it. 

"Oh my god, I'm so bored out here!" Came Maiko's voice. 

Tatsuhana stifled her laugh to little effect. By the sounds of it, Maiko wasn't enjoying her short vacation in the countryside. "It's good to hear from you, too," said Tatsuhana. 

Sesshomaru had been racking his brain for the past week while Rin grew more sullen. She wasn't behaving poorly; she knew better. However, Rin became more distant and spent a lot more time in her room. It was a sudden shift in personality that Sesshomaru didn't like. He especially didn't like the fact that he was responsible for it. 

He began to wonder if he reacted too aggressively after the park incident. Tatsuhana had no experience in dealing with criminals and had no idea that the Band of Seven would start following her. She didn't post her schedule for the criminals to find. There was no harm done to Rin because of Tatsuhana's quick thinking. Rin became morose after being told that Tatsuhana would not be seeing her any time soon. Sesshomaru thought he was doing right by his child in keeping her away from a danger magnet like Tatsuhana. He watched Rin closely throughout the week when he was able. The change was subtle at first but slowly became more visible before his very eyes. There was a little twinge in his stomach. It was the closest thing to guilt that he would ever get. 

Tatsuhana's negligence might have gotten Rin hurt or, worse, dead. Yet, he couldn't 'stay' mad at her. Since the incident, his temper cooled. He no longer felt the way he did before. Sesshomaru might even confess to saying that she didn't have any control over what happened that day and couldn't have predicted the Band of Seven. On the other hand, he'd likely never say it to her face. 

At least, until today. 

"Rin, would you like to visit your grandparents?"

Rin looked up from her coloring book. She didn't say anything, but she showed him her brightest, most honest smile. 

Tatsuhana moved the call from the guest room to the living room. The four walls were starting to close in on her. Tatsuhana didn't talk much on the phone, mostly she listened. She inwardly cringed at the phone bill next month. Maiko was a city-girl trapped inside her grandparents' rural small town. Maiko made it seem like she was on the other side of the world instead of Shiretoko in Hokkaido. It was getting warmer up there by now even though it'd been hot and sticky here down south. Tatsuhana listened to all the things that Maiko hated about the countryside from the lack of shopping malls to the insistent chirping of bugs. More bugs than she was used to, that is to say. Maiko also didn't get a chance to pack better summer clothes, having been used to wearing business suits most of the time. According to Maiko, she was stuck with some of her mother's old clothes, which included a pair of overalls, a garment Maiko always had an expressed loathing for. 

"I can't wait to get back to civilization!" Maiko nearly screamed into Tatsuhana's ear. 

Tatsuhana listened patiently to Maiko's ranting when she picked up something else. Footsteps were entering the house. Mrs. Taisho was out in the garden, and her husband was putting in extra hours at work. 

"Maiko, can I call you back?" 

"Sure, what is it? They haven't followed you where you're staying, have they?" 

"No, I don't think so," said Tatsuhana. 

She rose from the couch and said good-bye to Maiko. She didn't know how well she'd be able to keep her promise to call back later. Tatsuhana rubbed the coin necklace at her throat with her thumb. It was a habit she picked up again after her first unfortunate meeting with Bankotsu. Tatsuhana crept towards the foyer. 

"Miss Hana!" Rin shouted. 

The little girl ran to her and wrapped her arms around Tatsuhana's legs. Tatsuhana ruffled Rin's hair before turning to Sesshomaru. 

"Mr. Taisho," said Tatsuhana curtly. 

"Is my step-mother around?" He asked. 

Tatsuhana furrowed her brows. While not outwardly vicious, Sesshomaru always displayed an air of cold indifference towards his step-mother. Tatsuhana wasn't feeling curious enough to ask the 'why.' Instead, she directed him to the garden. Rin did not follow. Apparently, the business Sesshomaru had to discuss with Mrs. Taisho was 'grownup business,' as he put it for Rin. He left his daughter in Tatsuhana's hands for the time being. 

"I'm to do what?" Sesshomaru gaped. 

Izayoi patted down some fresh soil around her rose bush while Kaede helped water and fertilize the other plants. Sesshomaru counted on the old woman's hearing to match her age. 

"I think you heard me quite clearly, Sesshomaru. If you want Tatsuhana to change her opinion of you, you have to apologize. You've been a real beast towards her despite everything bad happening right now. Her family's inn is shut down, she's out of work, and she has a violent gang following her through parks. The last thing she needs is to have someone tear her down even more. I'd say you've been downright cruel to her." 

"What if she doesn't accept my apology? I would have embarrassed myself for nothing," said Sesshomaru. 

Izayoi rolled her eyes. "I didn't think you thought so low of her. Tatsuhana is a lovely soul, even if she doesn't express it like most people do. It would do you well to put some effort into pretending you care about her feelings." 

"She's right, you know, Sesshomaru. Ms. Hamasaki is a lot like you in some ways. She puts up a barrier around her feelings because I suspect that she was hurt by someone. She isn't, however, cruel or unforgiving, as far as I can tell. It would be wise to listen to a woman's advice concerning another woman," said Kaede. 

"I have to apologize?" Sesshomaru was more incredulous this time. 

He hated apologizing; it always made him feel like he'd done something wrong. Worse yet, it made him feel just a little bit like a human. Sesshomaru, the Killing Perfection, could not afford to even so much as appear weak or vulnerable. But stronger than his resistance to admitting he was wrong was Rin's happiness. Rin smiled more often and more brightly when Tatsuhana was around. Only to himself, Sesshomaru admitted that it had been a mistake keeping them separated. Despite the park incident, Tatsuhana was an excellent caregiver, and Rin never before opened up like she did around her. He would have to keep Rin's well-being at the forefront of his mind when he apologized. 

"Is there anything else?" His tone was more snide than he meant, but it did feel good. 

"Grovel," suggested Kaede. "I recommend groveling." 

Sesshomaru's jaw tightened. He was undoubtedly above 'that.' Without another word, Sesshomaru turned on his heels and headed back into the house. He followed the lengthy maze of corridors and open rooms to return to the main living room. He paused at the doorway when he heard Tatsuhana speak somberly. Sesshomaru arrived at the door at the tail end of a conversation she was having with Rin. 

"You must never say that about your father, Rin. Never, ever," Tatsuhana scolded. 

"But he won't let me see you! It's not fair. I hate him!"

"You cannot say that. Some of Dad's out there are really bad, but your dad's trying to do what's right by you. I put us both in a lot of danger last week when I took you to the park. You shouldn't say that you hate your dad." 

"But I do!"   
Sesshomaru gritted his teeth. Not out of anger towards Rin or Tatsuhana, but at himself. Rin never spoke to or about him in such a manner. He wondered where she learned it from before he asked how he was going to clean up that mess. 

"Rin, I'm going to tell you something, and I want you to listen carefully. You should never say that about your dad unless he does something truly awful to you. Learn from my experience. You don't want your last words to your dad to be _I hate you._ It stings, and it'll follow you for a long time. I lost my dad almost seven months ago, and to this day, I regret the things I said to him before he left. I said some terrible things, and I never got the chance to apologize. I didn't get to tell him that he was right, and I never felt more sorry until I broke his heart. I couldn't take it back, nor could I say to him on his deathbed that I was sad. You won't know when you'll see your dad next, so I suggest that you think before you say such things." 

Sesshomaru didn't hear Rin's reply. There was a jangling of keys. Sesshomaru stole himself away from the doorway and entered the foyer as if he was just coming from the corridor. His father lurched inside, followed by a familiar face. 

"Sesshomaru, what are you doing here?" Asked Toga. 

"I was letting Rin visit you, Izayoi, and Tatsuhana." Sesshomaru's eyes turned to the man stepping behind Toga. "What's he doing here?"

"Your father offered me dinner, and I humbly accepted. How is Ms. Hamasaki doing?" 

Sesshomaru grit his teeth again before answering. "She's doing well, Mr. Kaazana. Thank you for asking."

"I think I'd rather hear from her directly. Where is she?"

"Right in here." Tatsuhana stepped out. 

Sesshomaru saw the haziness in her eyes as if she was close to bursting into tears. He heard her short story and felt his bones tremble. Was this pity he felt? Whatever emotion he felt was quickly replaced by something else entirely. Tatsuhana brushed past Sessohmaru without ever knowing or acknowledging that he was there. Like he was a ghost. Her eyes were glued onto Kaazana for some reason. She bowed to him. 'Bowed.' To 'him' of all people. Sour bile rose in Sesshomaru's throat. Tatsuhana never smiled so sweetly at him as she did with that author. Sesshomaru couldn't see the appeal of a man who wrote smut for a living. 

"Daddy?" Rin appeared at his side. 

Hesitantly, she wrapped her little arms around him, not even able to encircle him. Rin looked up at him with her big brown eyes and said, "Can we talk for a minute? I wanna say something."

"Sesshomaru, how long have you been there?" Asked Tatsuhana. 

With her shoulders tight and arms folded across her chest, Tatsuhana's body language was hard and tense. She stared at him with slightly furrowed brows as if she was angry about something. Sesshomaru had a feeling that she might have suspected him of listening in on her conversation with Rin.

"Not long, I assure you. Excuse me, but Rin and I apparently need to have a talk." 

Sesshomaru relented to Rin tugging on his wrist and followed her up the stairs. He looked over his shoulders and saw Tatsuhana standing too close to Mr. Kaazana for his liking. 

Rin apologized for her behavior. Sesshomaru let her hug him as she cried, saying that she didn't want him to die. In all likelihood, it would be Rin who died before Sesshomaru. She was a mere human and Sesshomaru being a pure-blooded demon. The whole time he wondered what happened in Tatsuhana's past. He heard glimpses of it, but there were details she skipped over so Rin could understand. He should have thanked her, at least. It would make what he had to do a little bit easier. Apologizing would be the bitter pill he had to swallow to get rid of this nauseating, nagging 'thing' growing in the pit of his stomach. It would get Rin back to her usual self. He just had to sit through dinner and wait until afterward before pulling her aside. 

The bad thing was sitting at the table across from her and Miroku Kaazana. Sesshomaru considered them awfully chatty for two people who just met. Tatsuhana might have been talking to Miroku based on getting a job doing cover art for his books. Still, Sesshomaru didn't like the look the latter was giving. He'd seen many human men in his lifetime. Though he mostly stayed away from their species, Sesshomaru knew enough about them to know when the male of the herds desired the female. 

Miroku's eyes were fixed on her as if nothing could tear his gaze away; it was annoying how he looked at her. He looked relaxed around Tatsuhana like they were best friends or something. Whatever it was that humans called each other. However, Sesshomaru rarely heard or seen successful 'friendships' between men and women. It either ended up with them in bed together or in disaster. Sesshomaru didn't care to see how Miroku presumed it was safe to be so at ease around Tatsuhana. Perhaps he didn't know the full story? There was a chance that the smut writer didn't realize that Tatsuhana currently had a target on her back placed by the Band of Seven. And if he did know, then he was a fool. The man couldn't even hold his steak knife properly. How could he possibly defend himself and Tatsuhana against armed, dangerous men? It must have been the universe's joke.

Sesshomaru sipped his wine while trying to make his glare too obvious. Both Tatsuhana and Miroku were oblivious to the fact that the man across from watched them. Tatsuhana chatted away with a smile on her face while Miroku talked her ear off. The color red painted her cheeks. Sesshomaru saw a wine glass beside her but rarely saw her drink; he couldn't help but clench his teeth. They talked about business, books, and marketing strategies. Still, it was plain to anyone who had functioning corneas that Miroku was flirting. 

Sesshomaru didn't know why it bothered him so much. He held no claim over her, and she was an adult woman. Tatsuhana was free of any obligation towards anyone. She could sleep with the man for all he cared.   
Except he did care in his own way. The idea vexed him more than it should. Tatsuhana probably had a boyfriend or two in the past. After all, she was young and beautiful. Who wouldn't want to make her his? Still, the idea of her sleeping with the smut writer annoyed Sesshomaru. He didn't know why, and he didn't care to know. All that Sesshomaru knew was that he would rather see Miroku dead before he saw Tatsuhana share a bed with him. The writer had a presumptuous air about him that made liking him nigh impossible. Tatsuhana might have been thinking about business, but Miroku was trying to find a way into her pants. 

Dinner mercifully ended before too long. Sesshomaru didn't doubt that if it stretched on for another hour, he would have reached over the table and strangled the man. Toga called a cab for Miroku, but it was Tatsuhana that waited with him. She wasn't even a member of the family, and she still acted like a hostess. Sesshomaru wondered if it was always about business, if she was just polite, or if hold habits from running an inn were hard to break. Sesshomaru watched the cabbie pull out from the living room window. Rin was upstairs with Izayoi getting ready for bed. Somehow, Toga convinced him to stay one night. He wasn't sure what the old man was planning, but Sesshomaru didn't like it. 

"Are you going to stay here all night? If nobody's going to be in here, someone should turn off the lights." Tatsuhana appeared in the archway, leaning against the paneling. 

"You and that author are getting rather close." 

"It's strictly business," said Tatsuhana. 

"Does he know that?" 

"You sound like you don't approve." 

"It's none of 'my' business. You can flirt with whomever you like," said Sesshomaru curtly.

This wasn't how apologies usually began. He thought about kicking himself, but his mouth moved before he could stop himself. Kaede's advice rang in his head.   
_Grovel_ , said the old woman. 

As if he would stoop to that level. 

"You never did answer my question, Sesshomaru," said Tatsuhana. "Were you listening in earlier? When I was talking to Rin?" 

"I might have," he answered.

His response earned him an eye roll. Tatsuhana folded her arms across her chest. Her shoulders were hard and stiff, and she planted her feet. She looked him in the eye, and nobody dared to do such a thing. Not if they wanted to live. So far, Tatsuhana and all her willfulness had been the only one to survive and live to tell the tale. 

"Did you or didn't you? There's no real point in lying. I knew you were standing there. It's really a matter of time before you confess."

"The story…about your father. Was it true?" 

Sesshomaru remembered Tatsuhana's tone when she told Rin the story. He would hate to have Rin's apology be tainted because Tatsuhana lied to her. If it turned out that the story had been nothing more than that, he had lost a little respect for her. There was no reason to lie to a child like that, especially one so vulnerable like Rin. 

Tatsuhana didn't answer. Not right away. She sat on the couch and sighed. There were a full wine glass and a bottle on the coffee table. Tatsuhana took it, downed a mouthful, and then set it down again. 

"Unfortunately, yes. It is true. If you think I'm young, dumb, and naïve now, you should have seen me a year ago. I was even worse then."   
Unexpectedly, Tatsuhana patted the empty seat beside her. Sesshomaru, not knowing what else to do, took it. Tatsuhana leaned on the arm of the couch with a hand against her temple. She stared off into as if she recalled memories from the void. 

"The story is much longer than what I told Rin. Last year, I met someone. Being the semi-sheltered girl I was, I fell head over heels for the man. I'd never been lucky with love or boys. I pinched myself just to be sure I wasn't dreaming." 

Tatsuhana grabbed her glass but didn't set it back down after taking a sip. "He had a lot going for him. He was handsome, smart, talented, and he listened to everything I said. At the time, I thought he was perfect."

"You fall for a man, but then he breaks your heart, I take it? What does that have to do with your father?" Sesshomaru asked. 

"I'm getting to that. We dated for a few months, and you have to imagine that I was not the first to see the warning signs until after the fact. Maiko tried to warn me, but I wouldn't listen. A few months down the line, he proposes. I'm so giddy that someone actually wanted to marry me, I didn't care that we only dated for five, six months. I was just happy someone wanted me enough to propose. So you can imagine my conservative parents' thoughts about this." 

"They didn't like the man?" 

Silly question, probably. Tatsuhana nodded. 

"It wasn't a matter of hating him, but my parents told me that they had a suspicious feeling about him. They were set firmly against it that my father told me that he would not pay or participate in any wedding of mine to that man. I was heartbroken. That was my father, who I loved dearly. I couldn't imagine, or afford, having a wedding without him. But I was in love or thought I was. I got into a heated argument with them and said some things that…haunt me to this day." Her eyes became watery. Tatsuhana wiped away the invisible tears. "I stormed out of the house. I was going to tell him that we should elope and forget about getting my parents' blessing. We could have a simple affair at the courthouse. When I got to his apartment, I got him in the act of proposing to another girl. He forgot that I had a key to his place. I was furious when I found out that the other girl and I weren't the only ones. He performed this scam with a lot of artists in the area in the hopes of stealing our work, selling it, and collecting the profit for himself. Bastard." 

She drank. Tatsuhana had been doing that a lot lately. Sesshomaru was worried it was going to become a habit. 

"I spent a few days in my apartment, wallowing in my tears and shame. I said things that I don't want to repeat. Worse yet, they were right. They had been right about that man, but like a spoiled brat, I didn't listen to them. After swallowing my pride, I decided to go over to the inn and grovel at their feet. Beg for their forgiveness."

Tatsuhana swallowed hard, but she hadn't taken a drink. Her eyes turned watery again, but this time, tears flowed. Sesshomaru watched the droplets fall down her cheeks. A single tear at first, then the floodgates opened. 

"But…but when I got there, ambulances were parked out the front. The last time I saw my father, he was being carried down on a stretcher. He'd been pronounced dead at the scene. My mother found him dead and suffered a heart attack at the shock of it. I was with her in the ambulance, but we didn't make it in time. I would like to think she heard me cry about how sorry I was, however, in the end, I don't know for sure." She downed the rest of her glass's contents. "And that's the story. The one time I disobeyed my parents, and they end up dying." 

"You know that it was just a coincidence. You didn't actually kill your parents by disobeying them or saying cruel things to them." 

Tatsuhana nodded huffing. "I know that. Makes for an unfortunate coincidence, though."

"Is all that why you stay at the inn?" Asked Sesshomaru. 

She nodded again. "It's my atonement. Besides, I couldn't imagine anyone else owning the place. Somebody else would just come along and bulldoze the whole lot. That would be a crying shame."

Tatsuhana rose off the couch. She wobbled a bit, making Sesshomaru wonder how many glasses did she have before he found her in the living room. She stumbled on foot and dashed her head against the coffee table if he hadn't caught her in time. 

"Um, thanks," said Tatsuhana. 

Sesshomaru helped right her but then held her in place by touching her arm. 

"You can let go now," she said. 

"I have something to say to you, and I want you to listen closely. I'm only going to say this once," said Sesshomaru in hushed tones. 

This made Tatsuhana's brow shoot up. 

"About Rin…I want to…I need to tell you that I—" Sesshomaru paused to take a deep breath. "I need to tell you that I apologize for my behavior."

Tatsuhana's eyes flew open as if he asked her to bear him a son. 

"Are you feeling alright? Should I call a doctor? How much did you drink tonight?" Tatsuhana reached up to feel his forehead, presumably to check if he had a fever. 

Sesshomaru gently pushed her hand away.

"It takes a lot more than a glass of wine to get me drunk. In case you forgot, I'm a demon. I feel perfectly…fine. I have been informed that my behavior towards you has been beastly, and I wanted to apologize for it. However, if you're going to make fun of me for it, I take it back."

"I'm not trying to make fun of your apology, I'm just surprised," said Tatsuhana. "I'm shocked." 

"You're not the only one who has to swallow their pride. It…wasn't your fault what happened to Rin. You didn't know that they would follow you, and you did a good jump in keeping her out of harm's way. I should have thanked you instead of berated you." 

"So there is a person underneath that shield of ice," Tatsuhana laughed. "And I'm sorry I put her in that position. If I knew or watched my surroundings more carefully, neither of us would be where we are now."

"Do you know when you'll be able to return to your apartment?" Asked Sesshomaru. 

Tatsuhana shrugged her shoulders. "Depends on how long the Band of Seven is going to have a hang-up about the inn. It could be weeks, months. Who knows? I don't know what they think is down there, but it must be worth it to harass me. I just want to go back to my classes and my apartment. I'm not used to all this…." She waved her hands, gesturing around the room. 

The living room was more significant than her whole apartment. Every piece of furniture in it was more expensive than her rent. 

"I'm sure you want to return to your normalcy, I suppose. It can be a bit overwhelming for someone who hasn't been surrounded by wealth their entire life. Just imagine, you'll be making enough to rent a bigger place. You are still planning on working for my father in the marketing department, right? Graphic design?" 

"Oh yeah. I completely forgot about that. That can wait, can't it? Right now, I'd kill to get some fresh air." 

Sesshomaru nodded. "I'm sure that could be arranged. Good night." 

"Goodnight."

Sesshomaru crawled into bed, feeling none the lighter. He thought that when he apologized, he would feel better. The problem was that he not only failed to feel better, he felt worse than before. He took the bitter pill and was made sicker. He turned off the light and lay under the sheets. It occurred to him that he stayed in the guest room next to the one Tatsuhana occupied. He used the same one on the night of the party a few days ago, and he found her passed out. Her drinking was starting to become a habit, and it made him grimace. It would be a damn shame for her to waste her talent by chasing down the bottom of every bottle. 

He turned onto his side. Sesshomaru startled him. Well, as much as you could startle a demon of his caliber. His thoughts turned to Tatsuhana. This scared him. He loathed being around her, but spending time away made his skin itch in the worst kind of way. Usually, women were either too intimidated by him or were smitten without reason. Tatsuhana fell into neither category. At first, yes, but only because she actually had something to lose. The more time she spent with Rin and with him, the opposite effect happened. Instead, being attracted to him, Tatsuhana was apathetic. A breath of fresh air. 

There were three options laid out before him. Sesshomaru could ignore his growing attraction and grow mad, find a way to detach himself from these feelings, or follow his instincts and attempt to court her like a proper demon. The first option was the least appealing, and the second sounded impossible, given his current state. That left the third option, which also made it the hardest. Sesshomaru closed his eyes to sleep. He would decide in the morning.


	12. Chapter 12

Tatsuhana moaned as she awoke. Her eyes glared at the sun shining through her window. Outside, birds were chirping, which caused her temples to throb. Her head pounded from the hangover she acquired for herself during an episode of self-pity. She went to the bathroom, got some water and an aspirin, and took it. Then, she showered and got dressed. Tatsuhana didn't bother looking at any clock as she made her way downstairs. Although she did wonder if they were serving breakfast or lunch at this hour. She hated getting out of bed after ten o'clock. Something about sleeping in never occurred to her to be a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Nearly aspect of her life up to her parents' sudden death had been one attuned to a precise schedule. Almost seven months had passed, and Tatsuhana felt the old routine slipping. She felt less productive and mopier during the day. 

There was the family seated at the table. Nobody made a comment that she was getting up around noon. Kaede simply brought out a plate for her and some coffee. 

"I thought that it would be a good day to get some fresh air. Inuyasha has insisted on introducing his new girlfriend and wants the families to meet and have dinner out later. Would you like to come along, Tatsuhana? You coop yourself up in the house for so long, you must be getting bored out of your mind!" Said Izayoi. 

Tatsuhana picked at her food. She ate a little and gave the idea some thought. Outside? Going outside? If she was surrounded by people, three of whom were demons, then there was the possibility of having a typical night out. It could be beautiful. 

"Where are we going? Is he bringing his girlfriend here?" Asked Tatsuhana. 

"Oh, no. We're meeting over at her place. Her family runs a shrine." Answered Izayoi. 

"It's the Higurashi Shrine near downtown. The one with the big tree and the well. Have you heard of it?" Toga finished his coffee. 

Tatsuhana nearly dropped her fork. The salad she'd been picking at was forgotten. Her mouth hung loosely for a moment before shutting again. Her brows furrowed slightly. 

"Higurashi? I think I've heard of it," she said wistfully. 

Sesshomaru saw a peculiar film glaze over Tatsuhana's eyes. She went back to her salad, nibbling but not really eating. Only when Kaede applied pressure did Tatsuhana eat with more gusto. She'd been losing a bit of weight since she came here. It wasn't noticeable to any mortal eye unless they looked around enough. 

"Would we be able to stop by the inn? I want to make sure everything's in order." Tatsuhana said at last. 

Toga thought for a moment then nodded his head as if agreeing with some idea hidden there. 

"I don't see why not. Maybe we can get to the bottom of your little _situation_ and the Band of Seven's obsession with your inn," said Toga. 

Toga, Izayoi, Sesshomaru, and Rin left Tatsuhana to enjoy her lunch in quiet. They began preparations for heading out while Tatsuhana took her time. Sesshomaru left Rin in the care of her grandparents while standing near the dining room entrance, waiting. He could not easily forget the face Tatsuhana made at the mention of the Higurashi Shrine. Prying for more details about her life, felt invasive, especially after last night. Yet, he needed more. He had watched her face turn from curious to…whatever that was. She wasn't angry or sad. Wistful might have been a better word, yet that didn't seem to fit either. Her eyes stared off into the distance as if looking at some invisible point. Tatsuhana turned a little pale, and Sesshomaru couldn't have been the only one who noticed. He was almost sure of that. Sesshomaru was about to reenter the dining hall when a hand, his fathers, pulled him aside. 

Toga pulled him away before Sesshomaru even crossed the threshold. The son shot an arched brow at the father. 

"What?" Sesshomaru hissed. 

"Has Tatsuhana ever mentioned to you anything about the shrine? Has she visited it before?" 

So, his father did notice. Sesshomaru wasn't the only full-blooded demon at the table, any other would have to be blind. He shook his head. 

"No. She speaks very little about her childhood, likely because her parents died so recently. Tatsuhana has never mentioned the place before. Why do you want to know?" 

"I was concerned. She made a face after I mentioned the shrine by name, and—She's coming."

Toga and Sesshomaru made a less than graceful escape. Sesshomaru felt little better than a gossiping handmaid who'd almost got caught spreading a rumor. Sure enough, Tatsuhana's footfalls fell behind them. She walked past them. Whether or not she thought they were talking about her behind her back, Tatsuhana made no sign of knowing. Her eyes looked out in front of her, barely seeing anything else. Sesshomaru still saw that wistful, distant look in her eyes and wondered what was going inside that head of hers. 

It didn't take too long for the traveling party to start out the door. The original plan was that Tatsuhana would ride with Toga and his wife, but her host changed his mind at the last minute. 

"Why don't we have Rin ride with us? It's been a while since we've had a nice car ride with her. And you and Tatsuhana can get to know each other a bit better?" 

Sesshomaru practically growled at his father. He saw the glint in Toga's eyes. Mischief with a hint of knowing smugness. Toga didn't even try to hide it, least of all from his own first-born son. Rin tugged at her father's arm, pleading to go with Grandma and Grandpa. With her big, pleading brown eyes, Sesshomaru relented in a heartbeat. Tatsuhana, who just finished adjusting the strap of her shoulder bag (weighed down by a couple of sketchbooks and pencils), merely shrugged her shoulders. She piled into Sesshomaru's car while Toga wrestled the child's seat out of the back. She waited patiently for everyone to get settled. 

Higurashi, eh? She hadn't heard that name in a long time. Tatsuhana didn't know what to make of the place or what it meant to her. One could say that is where her story began, but that would give too much away. Eventually, Sesshomaru climbed into the driver's seat. Tatsuhana barely walked out of her daydream when she vaguely heard the car door shut. 

"Do you have everything you need?" 

"Uh?" She said. 

Sesshomaru huffed before he started the car. "Do you have everything? Because I'm not going to turn back around because you forgot something." 

Tatsuhana double-checked her bag just in case. She found her apartment keys, though that was mostly out of habit. Tatsuhana packed two sketchbooks (you never know), her loaded pencil bag, wallet, phone, charger, and the ring of keys to the inn. She nodded and said she had everything she might need. 

The car ride was uncomfortable for both parties, on Sesshomaru's part, for having zero experience making polite small talk and on Tatsuhana's part for behaving so mysteriously. Neither one was good at communication. Tatsuhana stared out the window, which didn't help. Sesshomaru tapped the steering wheel. It helped him think sometimes, and the sound filled the void between them. 

"You're anxious," said Tatsuhana. 

"What?" Sesshomaru stopped tapping the wheel immediately.

"You were drumming the wheel. People only do that when they're nervous, anxious, or impatient. So, which one are you?"

"None of the above," he replied. "I'm merely trying to think." 

"About what?" Tatsuhana asked. 

"Why have you been drinking lately? You don't seem the type to drink so casually and often. Should I be concerned?"

"My family's inn and my employees have been exposed to danger. I haven't slept in my own bed in over a week, I've missed classes, and all because the Band of Seven thinks something is valuable in the basement. Wouldn't you drink too?"

"And you're certain you don't know what's down there that would make them fixate on you?"

"I could take a look while we're out and about if it's not too much trouble?"

"Let's go meet my brother's new girlfriend first. Have you ever been to the Higurashi shrine before?" Asked Sesshomaru.

Tatsuhana's mouth formed a fine line. She turned to stare out the window. 

"Once," she answered. "But it was a very long time ago." 

Sesshomaru was about to ask more questions but remembered that their relationship stood on thin ice. If Tatsuhana didn't feel like divulging her emotions, then he wasn't going to press her. She could turn into a cornered animal when pushed too far. Sesshomaru's mind somehow drifted to that day when they fenced together. He wondered how Tatsuhana, though physically fit, could put a crack in his practice sword. She would have to be either an extraordinary human or something else entirely. As it was, he couldn't ask about that either. Sesshomaru glanced from the corner of his eye. Tatsuhana sat quietly in the passenger seat, resting against the window and staring out of it. Her thumb and forefinger fiddled with the pendant around her neck. It was an old coin tied with two pieces of leather through the diamond-shaped hole in the metal. It was of Chinese make, he guessed. Come to think of it, Sesshomaru couldn't think of a time when she was without it. The more traits he picked up about her, the more mysterious Tatsuhana became. The rest of the journey was made in silence. 

Tatsuhana didn't realize that they had arrived until Sesshomaru held her door open instead of sitting behind the wheel. She took off the seatbelt and adjusted her bag. The other three had gone on ahead of them into the shrine where they'd meet. Supposedly, there was an impromptu garden party so that the families could get to know one another. Tatsuhana caught snippets of information, but in truth, she wasn't entirely there. Not mentally, at least. She climbed up the steps with slow ease, yet her heart was racing. Thoughts were running around her head that almost made her forget her current troubles. Tatsuhana's glanced around, but they didn't really see anything. 

She paused at the long flight of stone stairs leading up to the Higurashi shrine. Sesshomaru paused on step four or five ahead of her. He looked over his shoulder at her, half-wondering if she had gotten lost on the way. 

"Are you coming?" He asked. 

Tatsuhana nodded, then answered. "Yeah. I'm right behind you."

She stepped in time with him on the staircase until they reached the top. It wasn't any marvelous shrine. Nothing to shake a twig at. It looked like the ordinary affairs, if not a little beat up. The shrine was a bit outdated and had some chipped paint. The traditional basin where pilgrims would wash their hands was shut off due to maintenance. There was small pagoda over an old well and a large tree wrapped in sacred rope. It held no memories for her, and yet Tatsuhana couldn't help but look around in awe. 

"Tatsuhana," said Sesshomaru. "What are you doing?"

She waved him off as she walked around the courtyard and wandered over to the well. 

"I'll catch up with you guys. I need a minute." Tatsuhana replied. 

Tatsuhana walked into the pagoda and leaned against the well. The water was so far down that she couldn't even see it. She leaned her arms on the mouth of the well and stared at nothing. 

"Can I help you, young lady?" 

Tatsuhana looked over her shoulder. An old man dressed in a white kimono and black hakama came towards her. Her first instinct was to help him up the short stairs leading into the pagoda but reconsidered. He had already gotten up before she could lend a hand. 

"It's…nothing. It's—" Tatsuhana took a deep breath. "This is very awkward, you see. I haven't been to this temple in a very long time."

"Oh? Why is that?" The old man asked. 

"I don't know you remember, but there was a…child left here. A baby. It was about twenty, twenty-one years ago. Do you know anything about that?" Tatsuhana swallowed hard. 

Gray brows knitted close together as the man thought for a moment. Then, slowly, the realization came to him. His eyes flew open. 

"I wonder what's taking Tatsuhana taking so long?" Izayoi wondered. 

"She probably got distracted and wanted to sketch something," said Toga. 

They were gathered at the table. There were too many seated at one place, so Rin and Kagome's younger brother Shouta sat in the garden beneath a tree. The meal was had under the shade of an awning, sheltered from the noonday sun's heat. Sesshomaru quietly sipped his tea. It was no secret that Tatsuhana had been acting quite peculiar, more so than usual. She had a glassy look in her eyes. He entertained the idea of finding her and asking her about it when another pair of individuals joined them. Inuyasha walked in with his new girlfriend practically on his hip. 

"Mother, Father, this is Kagome. Kagome, these are my parents and brother," said Inuyasha. 

"Half-brother." Sesshomaru emphasized. 

"Play nice," said Toga. 

"It's very nice to meet you, at last, Kagome, dear. We've heard so much about you." Izayoi rose to greet her. First, with a slight bow and then brought the girl in for a short hug. 

"I'm really honored to meet you, too," said Kagome. 

"Where's Tatsuhana?" Asked Inuyasha. 

"Probably sketching. I saw her near the pagoda." Sesshomaru answered. 

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Tatsuhana showed up as if her name a second time summoned her to the very spot. Her hands wrung the strap of her shoulder bag, and her gaze was fixed on the ground. 

"What's with you?" Inuyasha surprised everyone with his concern. 

Tatsuhana's head snapped up. Her hands clenched her bag tighter if that were possible. 

"Oh. Nothing. Really. I'm just in a weird headspace right now." She answered. 

"Is there something wrong, dear?" Asked Izayoi. 

"No. Yes. Sort of. Um, there's something I should mention, but I'm a little embarrassed to say. You see, I'm familiar with this shrine. I was here a long time ago. Twenty-one years ago, to be exact." 

An uncomfortable disquiet fell upon the room. One could have dropped a pin, and it could be heard by all. Tatsuhana swallowed hard. She rubbed the back of her neck and turned her gaze downward. 

"You see," she started again. "My parents…aren't my biological parents. I was adopted. Being here is a little awkward for me because this is the place where my biological parents abandoned me as a baby." 

Mouths were hanging open, and eyes widened. It was to be expected. Tatsuhana chanced a look at Sesshomaru. His face remained perfectly stoic, though his brows furrowed just a little. 

"Wait a minute, you're that baby Gramp's found all those years ago?" Kagome wondered aloud when no one else dared to speak. 

Tatsuhana nodded. Her heart pounded in her throat. "I-I'm afraid so. Will you excuse me?" 

She ducked under the awning and went over to Rin and Shouta's picnic blanket. Sesshomaru followed her movements and watched her sit down on the blanket. Tatsuhana bowed her neck for Rin to place a dandelion flower crown on her head.  


His hands fisted at his sides. What on earth did this mean? Sesshomaru felt strange. There was a burning sensation in his chest. His mind flickered to the idea that he was angry, but about what? He couldn't very well go back into the past and correct the injustice, nor could he soothe the ache in Tatsuhana's heart. Her reason for acting unusually was less than satisfying. Sesshomaru could see it in her face. Her smile was less bright, and her eyes seemed distant. Tea and savories were served though it didn't seem that Tatsuhana was much interested in them. Sesshomaru watched her from a distance.

Toga and Izayoi had left with Rin and were already on their way home. It was only Tatsuhana and Sesshomaru who lingered. He followed her to the well where he found her staring into the murky depths. The cicadas were growing louder in the late afternoon. Their constant buzzing could have given any mere mortal a headache listening to them for too long. Sesshomaru made his footsteps light so to appear non-threatening. 

"You could have refused the invitation. No one would have judged you for not coming. You're not part of this family, even if my father has taken pity on you. You weren't held under any obligation."

"I needed the air. Besides, it would have come out eventually. Poor little Tatsuhana, orphaned twice in one lifetime." She mumbled. 

Sesshomaru looked at her until the image of her was seared into his brain. Tatsuhana looked down into the well with a distant, sad look. He felt his heart clench inside his chest and bit back the urge to say something. Anything that might come out of his mouth would most likely sound ridiculous. She would just laugh at him.

Nevertheless, his common sense didn't stop him from opening his mouth. However, that was as far as he got. Sesshomaru's superior demon hearing let him pick up the old priest's soft footfalls coming towards them. 

"Ah, young lady. I was hoping to catch you before you left. I have something that I believe belongs to you," he said with a grin that revealed his missing tooth. 

"Something that belongs to me?" Tatsuhana rifled through her bag. "I don't think I'm missing anything."

"No, no. Not like that."

The old priest pulled out from behind his back a small box and a bundle of appeared to be silk. Tatsuhana took a couple of cautious steps before reaching out towards the items. 

"What these?" She asked. Her gaze fixed on the box and then at the cloth, brows furrowed deeply. 

"These were left with you. Child services picked you up before I had the chance to tell them. This was the blanket you were wrapped in, and this was left with you alongside a note."

Tatsuhana picked the box first and opened it. Inside was a long blade almost long enough to be a sword. It was a single-edge knife with a decorative pummel and a red and blue tassel dangling off the end. The scabbard it came in held a phoenix etched on one side and a dragon on the other. Tatsuhana flicked the blade back and forth, her face hardening. She sheathed the knife and stuffed it into her bag. The blanket she picked up next had a silk outer layer, but she could feel the quilting and linen backing. It looked a little worn, but that's what happens when you leave something in storage for twenty years. Tatsuhana bowed from the waist after she folded the blanket back up and tucked it under her arm.

"Thank you. I will let you know if I have any more questions," she said. 

Tatsuhana brushed past him and went towards the car. Sesshomaru waited a moment before going after her. They both sat in silence. Sesshomaru didn't even turn on the engine. They simply sat there expecting the other to same something. Anything at all would do. After several minutes, it was Tatsuhana who broke first. 

"They were nice enough to leave me a blanket and a knife, but couldn't be bothered to drop me off at a hospital?" 

"You didn't know about the trinkets?" 

Tatsuhana shook her head. "How could I? I was adopted within a few months. My parents, who had the decency to raise me that is, took me in when I was seven months old. According to the police report, I was still a newborn when my biological parents dumped me by the well. As the priest said, he didn't get the chance to tell child services about the presents they left me. And of all things, a blanket and a knife!" 

She unsheathed the blade. In the sunlight pouring through the car windows, they noticed a strange pattern in the blade like ghostly carvings in the metal. She turned the blade over in her hand as if doing so would reveal more secrets. As the light bounced off the knife, it was clear there were no more mysteries to uncover, just more questions. 

"Do you still want to check out the inn?" Sesshomaru hoped to change the subject. 

"Later. There's someone I need to see. Can you drop me off at the campus?" 

Sesshomaru knotted his white brows. "Whatever for?"

"There's an art history teacher who is an expert on blades. He might be able to at least help me identify the make of this knife."

"Are you keeping it?" 

Tatsuhana sheathed the blade. She twirled it around, but the sheath held no more answers than the knife's blade did. It looked fairly old. However, Tatsuhana was no art historian. She just knew one. 

After generously granting Sesshomaru a visitor's pass, Tatsuhana guided him down the building's labyrinth halls and through a lengthy corridor. Doors lined the walls and beside them plaques dedicating each room to either an office of a professor. Tatsuhana quickly read over the plaques under breath. She came to a halt at one door, which held the name 'K. Totosai.' Sesshomaru's interest piqued; he knew that name. Tatsuhana gently rapped on the door. 

"Professor Totosai, are you there? I have a question for you if I may." 

Silence. They stood outside the door for a minute or two before there was a crash behind the door. Tatsuhana ripped it open as soon as she heard it. Professor Totosai was an aged man. Balding head, tanned wrinkled skin and had a bony frame. His clothes barely fit him but still were a size too big. He was sprawled on a stack of books, which towered every surface of the room. Tatsuhana rushed to his side and held out her hand. Professor Totosai shook his head as if trying to wake himself out of a daze. He blinked his bulbous eyes up at him, then frowned. 

"It wasn't enough to sleep through my lectures, you have to come to bother me in my office?" Professor Totosai grabbed her hand. 

She helped him to his feet, but the professor brushed her off as soon as possible. He teetered towards his desk, half-leaning against the towers of books he crammed inside the small space. His office held nothing but his desk, his books, and just himself. Two people was a crowd, but three made the tiny office suffocating. 

"Professor, I was wondering if I could have you look at something for me. It's imperative."

"If you're looking for me to help you on a paper, I'm afraid you're out of luck. You had your chance but didn't take it seriously enough." Totosai's eyes then found Sesshomaru. "And you brought one of the Taisho's too? What exactly have you been doing lately?" 

"Sir, please, I need you to look at this knife for me, if it's not too much trouble." Tatsuhana was already reaching into her shoulder bag. 

"Has your sword held up in the last two hundred years, _Lord_ Sesshomaru? Or are you still petty about the present from your father because he had one made for your half-brother too?" Totosai chuckled. 

"I don't do _petty_ ," said Sesshomaru derisively. 

Tatsuhana paused in her search. "You two know each other?"

"He's a renowned demon blacksmith. Didn't you know?" Asked Sesshomaru.

"Well, I knew he was a demon, but I didn't want to assume that all demons know each other. Seems a little rude, don't you think. Ah-ha, here it is. Got buried at the bottom of my bag." Tatsuhana looked over her shoulder to make sure nobody else was in the halls to see her pull out a highly restricted item while on campus. 

She held out the sheathed knife towards the professor who took it from her gingerly. 

"This was supposedly left with me when I was abandoned by my biological parents. I was adopted before anyone could send it to my family. I was wondering if you could—"

Totosai unsheathed the knife and ran his tongue along the blade. Tatsuhana's brows browed, and her mouth twisted in disgust. Totosai pulled it away from his mouth, licking his lips as if discerning a meal's taste. The comparison wasn't far off from reality. 

"Hmmm, sixty percent traditional iron and twenty percent each of dragon's teeth and phoenix talon. Roughly…" Totosai smacked his gums as if he could still taste the blade's metal. "Late fourteenth to mid-fifteenth century make. Very good-looking for its age. You said. That this was left with you?" 

"Yes, but what does that tell you?" Asked Tatsuhana.

"Would you mind if I held unto it? To do further research?" 

"I don't see why not. I'm not particularly attached to it at the moment. If that's all, I'd better get going. Thank you very much, professor." Tatsuhana bowed from the waist. 

She didn't notice Sesshomaru looking at her or how his eyes trailed her body. Her bow held a certain amount of grace that only practice could afford. Sesshomaru hadn't yet seen a modern woman who could move with the practiced ease as Tatsuhana could. His teeth bit the inside of his mouth. He knew he shouldn't be thinking like that. It felt a little wrong, and yet it was also true. Sesshomaru walked out behind her. He was about to close the door when Totosai called out to him. 

"It feels like a storm is coming. I can feel it in my bones. I would recommend heading home as soon as possible, Lord Sesshomaru. Send your father, my regards."

"I'll deliver the message," said Sesshomaru. 

Sesshomaru didn't know what Totosai had meant about a storm until he had climbed into the car. The sky, which had been clear and bright blue earlier, turned a stormy gray. Rays of sunlight poked through clouds, which started to swarm like locusts. Tatsuhana gave him the direction to the inn. The mostly clear street had little foot traffic and cars since the inn had been closed for a little more than a week. It was a traditional building sitting on top of a hill in an upper-middle-class neighborhood. The steps leading up to it were clean and hedged with green shrubbery. Not a bit of rot or trash anywhere to be seen. He would have to ask who did her landscaping. Sesshomaru kept his eyes peeled open for any signs of tampering or vandalism. His eyes searched then he found himself staring at Tatsuhana's back. He felt belittled and betrayed by his own feelings and was no better than that smut writer ogling her. Tatsuhana's shoulders were a little wider than some women's, but they tapered off into a slim waist. Her hips were rounded, but her long legs were her primary feature. He couldn't tell if the toned muscles or the tight jeans made them look good. 

Her hair bobbed back and forth as she climbed up the stairs ahead of him until she reached the top's blue door. Tatsuhana produced a ring of keys from her bag that jingled like holiday bells. Her lithe fingers flicked through half a dozen of them before she found the right one. The wind rustled the bushes and her hair as she unlocked the inn's front door. Sesshomaru followed her in. 

He expected to find a lobby but was surprised to see a well-decorated courtyard with its own zen rock garden. Guests would walk past the serene garden before passing through another set of blue doors. The inn was designed like an ancient castle. The layout would have been more familiar to him if it hadn't been designed by a madman. There were twists and turns and room placements that made no sense. Sesshomaru followed behind to each, and every room Tatsuhana visited. She checked every nook and every crack for something amiss. Nothing appeared out of place or stolen or broken. There was nothing but an eerie stillness. 

"It looks like everything's in order. I just need to check the hot springs and kitchen, then we should be good to go," said Tatsuhana. 

Soon after she said it, there came the slow pitter-patter of raindrops. This was followed by a torrent. Tatsuhana brushed past Sesshomaru on her way out. She ran to the lobby's entrance only to find a sea engulfing the courtyard. Lighting flashed now and then while the gray sky slowly turned pitch black. The courtyard's doors flung open and slammed wildly in the wind. She flung her bag down and raced for it. With all her strength, Tatsuhana pulled the doors closed and locked it. When she sprang back inside, she was soaked to the bone. 

"Why did you do that? Afraid of little rain?" 

"If the Band of Seven wants to try something, it would be tonight. The streets will be completely empty, traffic non-existent, and nobody would see them poke around in a storm's darkness. Besides, would you really want to drive home in that?" Tatsuhana jabbed her thumb towards the storm, brewing beyond. 

The rock garden was looking more like a mud pit. More thunder rolled overhead. Dripping wet, Tatsuhana pulled the second pair of doors closed. She wrung her hair out, creating a puddle. 

"And you have spare clothes, I hope?" 

"Oh, yeah. Sometimes I spend all night working that I have to spend the night. It's not safe peddling home at one in the morning. Are you hungry?" 

"Suppose I could." 

"Let me get changed and see what's left in the kitchens. We can shack up in the Indigo Room." 

Tatsuhana led him into one of the many rooms. Sesshomaru noticed that they were all named after flowers or a plant. The Indio Room sported painted grass and the iconic blue flower. A mural to one side featured a poet or scholar looking out his porch dressed in the typical Heian period's typical fashion. The poet-scholar's head was perpetually reclining against his hand while the other held a cup of what looked like sake. 

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll go change and cook something up." Tatsuhana dumped her bag on the floor and hurried away. 

Sesshomaru walked around the room. The walls were decorated with plants. Painted green leaves and bluish-purple flowers burst into bloom around him. Even the overhead light was decorated with the indigo flowers. Below the light, a table sat right below. It was shined and polished like new. As many as eight or ten would be able to sit comfortably on the floor. The center of that table was a white and blue platter decorated with more indigo leaves in the paint. The floorboards creaked a little, and the molding could use some TLC. However, Sesshomaru admitted to himself (and only himself) that he saw why Tatsuhana would cling to this place after her parents' passing. It was beautiful. He'd only seen one room, and yet he felt the pride of craftsmanship and the work it took to make a single room as comfortable and inviting as a royal palace. 

He took a seat at the table and waited. Sesshomaru sent his father a quick message that he might not be home to pick up Rin if the storm continued. Toga Taisho, the demon, the Great Dog General, the bane of his enemies, and Sesshomaru's father sent this reply: ;). 

It took every bit of effort for Sesshomaru not to lose his cool and fling the device across the room. He'd already done that twice in the last four months, and replacing his phone was such a hassle. Quickly setting it aside, Sesshomaru rubbed the bridge of his nose. His demon senses picked up the sound of beef on the grill and rice steaming all the way from the kitchen. Sesshomaru picked up his phone again to find something to distract himself. He didn't even notice how hungry he was until Tatsuhana returned. She balanced one tray on her head and carried another in each other. He moved to help, but Tatsuhana set down each one with ease and not a morsel spilled. For a moment, Sesshomaru thought she would take the seat furthest from him. He surprised to see her sitting so willingly next to him. 

"Go ahead. Help yourself." Tatsuhana untied the strip of fabric used to hold back the sleeves of her kimono.

Her damp hair was pulled into a bun and pinned in place. She wore a pair of navy hakama and a white kimono. He noticed the necklace around her neck. She still had it tied around her even though that the rough leather looked like it hadn't been taken out of the rain. It was a curious pendant to be sure. Sesshomaru filled up his plate, but Tatsuhana hadn't touched hers until he had finished. 

"Sake?" She held out a bottle towards him. 

Sesshomaru took a cup and held out for her to pour some in. It would have been rude to object after she went through all the trouble to make dinner and keep him out of the rain. He was more surprised to see how she restrained herself from drinking. 

"You're very attached to this place, yes?" He took a swing. The alcohol's flavor burst on his tongue. 

"Good, right?" Tatsuhana saw his shocked face light up. "Unfortunately, the company went out of business a year ago. My father had a few bottles stored for later. That's the remains what's left of one. There's two left now."

"Should you be so callous with your father's sake? It sounds like a rare find to waste on someone such as I." Sesshomaru tipped the cup back. He didn't feel the slightest bit tipsy, but the flavor was exquisite even for a demon's pallet. 

"I'll think about that when I'm down to the last bottle. No sense in hoarding them for a special occasion. I don't plan on getting married any time soon, and as of late, there really isn't much to celebrate," said Tatsuhana before digging into her food.

They ate in relative quiet. Too distracted by her own thoughts, Tatushana failed to notice how his glancing from the corner of his eye. Tatsuhana's table manners were unexpected. She ate as if in the presence of a dignitary; her spine was completely straight. 

"And as to your question," Tatsuhana wiped her mouth after eating the last bite of rice on her plate. "Yes, I'm very attached to this place. Not just because of guilt. I was raised here. I lived here for most of my life. Some staff has watched me grow like Mr. Hanzo, who's been with us for the last ten years. The staff here are treated like family, and I would do anything for them. This place is very precious to me."

"You wouldn't consider selling the place?" 

"Not in a million years. I thought saying all that before made it quite clear on where I stand." Tatsuhana poured herself some sake. "Anyone who tries is going to have to pry it out of my cold dead hands."

"Tell me, do you have any other friends? Besides the lawyer?"

Tatsuhana took a gulp and finished her cup in one go. "Yeah. We've known each other since our grade school days. She was the only person who wasn't afraid to talk to me."

Sesshomaru should have stopped there. It wasn't in his nature to care about someone's life. Yet, here he was, puzzled by his own actions. Tatsuhana's lips were very honest after some sake. She refreshed his cup and poured herself another. 

"It isn't easy being me. First, I hit a growth spurt in middle school. I was taller than most boys by the time I graduated high school. Second, it isn't easy for someone to make friends when you live in a supposedly haunted inn at the top of a hill."

"Haunted?" Sesshomaru looked around. Was he looking for an apparition?

"You probably went to a private school or was already considered an adult by demon standards, so you wouldn't have likely known the local plebians' urban legends and ghost stories. But for those of us living in the mortal world, people get spooked very easily. This inn has a lot of history, most of it not very nice. If the family legend is to be true, then the hill this building stands on is the first, last, and only shrine to Izanami, the mother of all demons." She took a swig, much smaller this time. "Or so Father and Mother always told me. Way back in the Heian period, this patch of dirt had been a flat ground. One day, someone came along and built a temple. Nobody suspected who it was until a warlord decided to sneak inside. What he beheld there varies according to whoever is telling the story. My father told me that the warlord found children's corpses thrown into a pit to satisfy Izanami. His father told was told that the temple was decorated with the skulls of princes and priests with their eyes still lodged in their sockets, so they continued to watch the profane rites to Izanami."

"Then what happened?"

"The story goes that no matter what the warlord found, he managed to escape detection and tell his army what he had seen. The next day, they captured the priests and shamans who had been serving in the temple and put them all to death. 

Their bodies were thrown down a hole in the ground, and the temple burned on top. The place where it used to be was cursed, and heaps of dirt were thrown on top. Ever since this place has been the home of several ghosts and their stories."

"Do you believe in ghosts then? You don't strike me as the superstitious type," said Sesshomaru. 

"I'm not. Not really. I'm not sure if I believe in gods, but only because I've never seen one in person—just statuary or paintings. Ghosts, however, I've seen them. They've been quiet lately, possibly because they want me to grieve for my parents in peace. They can be respectful when they want to be."

"What sort of ghosts do you think to live here?" Sesshomaru should have stopped talking a while ago. His head was clear as crystal, but he was falling drunk of Tatsuhana's words. This was the first time she had been open about something without trying to bite his head off. 

"Well," she paused to think for a moment. "There's Mrs. Sugihara. She likes to wail every new moon. The story goes that she caught her husband having an affair. She killed him and the lover before taking her own life. She's easily appeased with a cup of ginger tea. Then there's the girl who likes to watch people bathe in the hot springs out back. The basement that everybody is so keen on entering is supposedly the place where the Mad Samurai haunts."

Sesshomaru's brow cocked up. "The Mad Samurai."

Tatsuhana nodded. Her cheeks and tips of her ears were turning red from the sake. 

"Yes, yes, the Mad Samurai. The story goes that during the Sengoku Era, some bloke bought this patch of land for cheap because it hadn't become the capital yet. The peasants tried to warn him about the legend of Izanami's temple buried under the hill. He didn't listen. Months went by, and the man decides that this was a brilliant place to build a castle. As you probably guessed, the inn has a set of unusual features. The only part of the story that gets confusing is figuring out if he was crazy, to begin with, or had become that way because of the curse." 

"And yet you want to keep this place?"

"We all have our ghosts. Mine just happens to sometimes be more literal than figurative. Besides, they're nice once you set the ground rules, and they don't do any harm other than scaring people." 

The rain didn't let up. It hadn't as the hours grew long into the night. Tatsuhana's eyes were drooping though she tried to stay awake. 

"Do you still have a bed here?" Asked Sesshomaru. 

"Yeah, in my old room. Why?"

Without saying a word, he hefted her up into his arms. Tatsuhana resisted a bit, but her body was caving in to the temptations of sleep. She was barely able to focus on giving him directions. Her room was next door to one of the master bedrooms next floor up. He rolled out her bed and helped her under the covers. Sesshomaru took up post by the door, just in case.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I'm not dead yet.

Tatsuhana woke up in the strangest place, one that she didn't think to return to so soon. Her temples throbbed as if she'd been beaten upside the head. She turned under some familiar sheets and rolled unto her side. She faced the door and saw Sesshomaru seated on the floor. He sat as if meditating. His head was lowered, but she couldn't tell if he actually was asleep. Tatsuhana pulled off the sheet, crept towards him, and knelt in front of him. Sure enough, Sesshomaru's even breathing answered her question. He was lightly snoring too. 

All of a sudden, and she couldn't say why, Tatsuhana felt the sudden urge to brush the hair out of his Sesshomaru's face to get a better look at him. She'd seen his face before already, but why would she want to see it now? Her hand acted of its own accord and reached out to him. She brushed the silvery-white hair aside to reveal a handsome sleeping face. Sesshomaru never looked peaceful, so Tatsuhana took a picture of his face in her mind. She wondered how old he was when he stirred awake. 

Sesshomaru's eyes shifted under their lids. Without groaning or yawning (for that would be too human for the likes of him), Sesshomaru opened his eyes. The moment his piercing amber eyes spotted her, Tatsuhana's face turned red as a beet. She yelped in surprise, tore her hand away, and shot to her feet in one fluid motion. 

"G-Good morning, Sesshomaru. Did you sleep well?" She asked. 

"Well enough," he answered. 

"What exactly were you doing sleeping on the floor? There's, there's room enough for two in the bed. I wouldn't have mind sharing."

Sesshomaru cocked his brow. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to offer your bed to strange men?"

"You let me watch over Rin. I've lived as a guest in your father's house, and you've seen me drink like a fish. We know each on a first name basis. You know where I live, work, and where I go to college. You even know about my only friend! I don't think you're much of a stranger to me anymore."

Sesshomaru hummed, but it was hard to tell what that indicated. Was it confirming or just an odd tick of his? Slowly, he rose to his feet too. 

"Then you shouldn't be so eager to offer your bed to men who have become familiar with you quickly. You never know who might try to seduce you."

Tatushana burst out laughing. She began laughing so hard that she doubled over, and tears welled up in her eyes. Sesshomaru let this continue, but he was losing his patience. He was about to make her stop when Tatsuhana did it for him.

"That was funny," she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I didn't think you were able to tell a joke. You almost made it sound like you wanted to be the one to seduce me. That's hilarious."

Sesshomaru stepped out of the room to allow Tatsuhana to change clothes. When she came out, she wore a different kimono. She combed her hair with her fingers, braided it, and pinned it into a bun. Her kimono wasn't anything formal or special. It was made of a lavender cloth, but there were no prints or patterns to decorate it. Her obi was a plain white sash. While Tatsuhana fiddled with her appearance in the mirror, Sesshomaru watched her without shame. Her back was turned to him, and from where he stood, she couldn't see him in the mirror's reflection. With both circumstances in place, Sesshomaru could take a proper, undisturbed look at Tatsuhana's figure. 

She was tall, taller than most human women. Tatsuhana must have stood out in her school days. She was lean, just a bit of muscle but not too much. Her shapely legs were hidden beneath her kimono. He wanted to say he wasn't disappointed in that, but that would be a lie, and Sesshomaru was above lying, even to himself. Tatsuhana had an athletic body. He approved, not that it mattered either to him or to her. She was…attractive, he supposed. Tatsuhana was very attractive, one could say. How she managed to only get one boyfriend in her life so far was a mystery to him. 

Sesshomaru's eyes trailed up from her feet to her legs, her buttocks, and then up her back. Her neck was rather graceful. He frowned at the frumpy necklace she clenched behind her neck. The old leather necklace didn't go with her kimono's delicate color, and the old coin looked ancient. For as young as she was, she shouldn't be wearing something so old-looking. More to the point, Sesshomaru wondered why she wore it in the first place. This wasn't the first time he'd seen it, but the kimono's youthful color emphasized the necklace's misplacement. 

"Are you ready to go?" Asked Tatsuhana. 

Sesshomaru merely nodded and walked ahead of her. There were few traces of the storm from last night. Puddles formed out of craters in the sand garden, which made Tatsuhana sigh. 

"We'll have to completely change out the sand after last night. I keep telling Mr. Hanzo to put a canopy or something over, but he never seems to get around to it. The sand is ruined now."

They climbed down the steps on the steep hillside. Tatsuhana reached the bottom before he did. A skill that could only come from gracing up and down the steps for much of her life. She had barely been standing there when something or someone slammed into her. 

Sesshomaru was there in an instant. He grabbed the figure by the collar and hauled it against the nearest street lamp. Tatsuhana rushed beside and tried to pull at his arms. 

"Wait, wait, Sesshomaru! I know this man. It's Mr. Hanzo. He works for me at the inn. Please let him go!" 

Sesshomaru loosened his grip. The middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair coughed and panted for breath. Mr. Hanzo quickly turned his eyes on Tatsuhana.

"Miss Hamasaki, you're still alive!" He shouted with tears coming out of his eyes. 

Tatsuhana's brows furrowed. "What do you mean? Of course, I'm still alive. Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just that, it's just that I came by your apartment to check on you. I thought you were staying there during this whole debacle with the Band of Seven. I went over to check on you, but…but…"

"But what?" Asked Tatsuhana.

"Spit it out," Sesshomaru growled, which earned him a slap in the arm from Tatsuhana.

Mr. Hanzo wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before continuing. 

"I thought you died in the fire, so I ran all the way over here to see if you had by chance spent last night at the inn."

Tatsuhana's face turned ashen. "Fire? What fire?"

Sesshomaru forgot what devastation looked like on another person's face. A thirty-minute trip to Tatsuhana's apartment complex was a silent ride through cramped lanes and stubborn drivers who refused to give him the right of way. By the time they reached it, it was beyond too late. A corner of the building was exposed by blackened lines. The entire apartment was black. Climbing out of the car, burned wood and plastic clung to the air. Pieces of broken, crumbled structure lay at the complex's base. Tatsuhana wordlessly climbed up the stairs to the second floor.

"Miss Hamasaki?" Mr. Hanzo followed behind. 

Tatsuhana either ignored him or couldn't hear him. She sullied her shoes by stepping into her apartment. There was no longer any door, just the hinges it used to hang by, but even those were charred. Ash filled her mouth and nose. She looked around the room for something she could salvage. There was nothing. Everything she owned in that apartment was painted over with ink. Nothing was salvageable; nothing was fixable. It was all gone--up in smoke.

"Miss Hamasaki, are you alright?" Mr. Hanzo asked. 

A small, bitter smile swept across Tatsuhana's face. "I told you before. After hours, you can call me Tatsuhana." She looked around the room. "I'm not technically homeless. I still have the inn. I can…start fresh in my old room. Or maybe I'll move into my parent's bedroom. Who knows?"

"I'll…take you back to my father's house," Sesshomaru said awkwardly.

"No," said Tatsuhana. 

Both Sesshomaru and Mr. Hanzo looked at her. Hanzo looked more shocked than Sesshomaru, but that didn't mean Tatsuhana's objection did not surprise him. That's just how his face was. 

"Miss…Tatsuhana, what are you saying?" A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Hanzo's face, which he quickly wiped away. 

"I'm not going back to Mr. Taisho's house tonight. I'm going back to the inn," Tatsuhana answered. 

Sesshomaru's white brow shot upwards. "You can't be serious." 

Tatsuhana glared at him.

"You can drive me back to the inn, or I will walk there. Either way, I'm not going to let them get away with destroying anything else of mine. If they want the inn, they're going to have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands!" Tatsuhana pushed past the men and stormed out of the complex. 

"She's always been like this, I'm afraid. Stubborn and protective. I-I'm worried that it'll get her killed," said Mr. Hanzo. 

"Not if I can help it," Sesshomaru growled. 

Sesshomaru followed her but spent little time catching up. He opened the car door for Tatsuhana, who slid back into the passenger. They drove back to the inn. As far as he could tell, there had been no one since they left an hour and a half ago. Sesshomaru put his inhuman sense to the test and sniffed the air. He could not smell the Band of Seven anywhere nearby. Tatsuhana walked up the steps leading back to the inn at the top of the incredible staircase. Not suitable for humans, but for a demon like him, the climb couldn't be easier. Tatsuhana said nothing. Out of everything so far, her silence was what worried (for lack of a better term, that is) him. Tatsuhana was usually a plethora of insights, weird art facts, and comebacks slung in his direction. The tips of her ears were red like she'd been drinking. Her brows were pinched close together as if she was plotting a very creative murder. 

"Tatsuhana!" Sesshomaru called out to her. 

He followed her up the stairs, through the courtyard, and remained behind her as she stormed down her own hallways. She had a smile, which was the most unsettling part of it all. She was gritting through her straining teeth just to keep herself from tearing out the throats of a particular gang responsible for newfound poverty. Sesshomaru didn't know how much Tatsuhana's things were worth, but considering that all the clothes, toiletries, and some of her art supplies were on her person or in the guest bedroom in his father's mansion. There was nothing left but dust, smoke, and ashes. Everything gone in a puff of smoke.

Sesshomaru reached her at last just as she was passing the Indigo Room. He snatched her wrist and twirled her around. Tatsuhana's breath caught her throat as she was pinned to the wall. Sesshomaru's claws lightly dug into her wrists. 

""What is it do you think you're doing here?" Sesshomaru demanded to know. 

"What do you think? I'm here to defend my home. They took my apartment, but they'll have climb across my dead body before they burn down this inn!" 

"That's what I'm afraid of." Sesshomaru let her go. 

Sesshomaru pulled out his cell phone from his jacket pocket as he left Tatsuhana to rub her wrists. They weren't damaged, just a little sore, and had a few scratches that didn't even break the skin. 

"Who are you calling?" 

"My father," answered Sesshomaru. 

"I've used plenty of your father's charity, so you don't need to call him. I can handle this by myself!" Tatsuhana reached for the phone. 

Sesshomaru was much faster than her. He grabbed her wrist before she could take his phone from him. He typed in the number with one hand and kept a hold on Tatsuhana's wrist. 

"Hello? Father, yes. It's me. I'm calling from Tatsuhana's inn. Her apartment has been burned down—"

Tatsuhana yanked her hand out of his grasp and stormed off. Sesshomaru tried to follow, but she disappeared down the hall and stepped into a room. He stood outside while continuing the conversation with his father. 

Tatsuhana stepped into the coolness of the room. All visitors were barred from this room in the west wing by a 'No Trespassing, Family Only.' Family meaning Tatsuhana's family. This was the only room with no heating or electric light. If she wanted to see, she would have to do it the old-fashioned way and light a lamp. Sesshomaru continued his conversation with his father over the phone, but Tatsuhana was no longer listening. She could faintly hear him through the rice paper walls, and that was it. She went to work lighting a few lamps and set them in each corner of the room. This room was sparse and purposely so. 

She was forbidden as a child and taught not to enter unless she need help. Except for a few lamps, the only other furnishings this room laid claim to was a complex altar arrangement. Fearsome-looking gods with tusks and red skin handled swords. They stood on either side of the waist-high shrine. Lining the wall were plaques of every ghost that roamed the inn's grounds. On the altar were five lacquered bowls of salt for burning incense. On the lower part of the wall were Tatsuhana's ancestors' names, or they would be her ancestors if she was blood-related. She lit a stick of incense for each burner.

Lastly, untouched in the six months were photographs of her mother and father still draped with white cloth and silk flowers. Tatsuhana bowed from the waist and strolled backward until she was a few feet away. She knelt on the ground and pressed her forehead to the floor. 

"I know I'm not sure if I believe in heaven or hell or gods or nature spirits, but I do believe in you. Ghosts, spirits of this house, I'm begging for your assistance. I have no home anymore except this one. Almost all of my earthly possessions are gone. If you have any pity, please at least help me defend my last home. I'll do right by you if you hel—"

All the lamps, including the ones furthest from the family shrine, blew out. Snuffed out by a breeze. Tatsuhana kept her head to the ground and tried not to move too much. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. A hundred voices seemed to speak all at once. Some old, some young, but they spoke with one voice all the same. 

"It is done." 

A violent shiver ran through her. A singular voice broke out from the chorus, someone familiar. 

"Tatsuhana, darling, you need to take yourself and your friend to the third floor. Hide in the Magnolia Room. Do not come out until dawn, do you understand?"

Tatsuhana raised her head immediately at the sound of her mother's voice. A single tear streaked down her face, but when she looked up. There was no one. The lamps were still snuffed out. She heard the faint hiss of the broken off incense pieces hitting the salt, but nothing else. The only thing moving in that room was her. 

Tatsuhana sprang to her feet and briefly dusted off her kimono. She opened the door only to find not only Sesshomaru still there but also his father and half-brother. Tatsuhana's brows furrowed. 

"When did they get here?" She asked. 

"You were in there for five hours. What on earth were you doing?" Sesshomaru asked. 

Tatsuhana slyly shut the door behind her. "This room is the family shrine. I was praying and meditating." 

"Hoping your ancestors would help you haunt the Band of Seven out of your house?" Inuyasha crudely remarked. 

"We do not disrespect the dead in this house," Tatsuhana snarked back. 

"I'm very sorry about your apartment, Miss Hamasaki," said Toga. "If there is anything I can do—"

"You can make your way to the third floor with me. Is there anyone else here with you?" Tatsuhana asked. 

"Just my girlfriend, but why do we need to go to the third floor. I thought we were supposed to be fighting off the Band of Seven," said Inuyasha. 

"Be quiet and do as I say. I don't have time to explain, and even if I did, you wouldn't believe it. Bring her to the third floor and hurry up!" Tatsuhana stormed down the hallway.

As they passed, Tatsuhana found Inuyasha's girlfriend standing by her lonesome in the hall. He dragged her along on the way up to the third floor. Tatsuhana still refused to answer any questions or say what was going on. She sealed them in with herself behind a locked and barricaded door. 

"First of all," said Inuyasha with his arms folded across his chest. "What's the big idea draggin' us all the way up here? Why the hell are we hiding when the Band of Seven's probably knocking down your damn door as we speak?" 

"Because when a ghost tells you to do something, you do it. You don't question it," Tatsuhana retorted. 

"Seriously? We're listening to the advice of a basket case? I'm outta here!" 

Inuyasha pushed past Tatsuhana, who had been standing by the door. The moment he tried reaching for the door, Tatsuhana grabbed him by the back of his jacket and flung him to the floor. She was on top of him in a flash. Inuyasha's arm was bent upward in her tight grip, and her knee pressed to the middle of her back. 

"Don't call me a basket case, and don't insult the advice of the dead in this house. I just spent hours in the family shrine without even realizing it. I was begging for the ghosts to help me because I am backed into a corner. This place is more valuable to me than ever before. So if some of the spiritual residents tell me to hide on the third floor with the door locked and barred, then I'm going to do it. You may not believe in them, but they will make you believe if you step out of that door!" Tatsuhana growled. 

Sesshomaru intervened, not for his half-brother's sake, but for Tatsuhana's. She was both pale and red in the face, with sweat beading down her neck. She wasn't even aware of how hard she was panting for breath. Sesshomaru grabbed her by the waist and held her hand. Slowly, he pulled her off and made her sit on an old box in the corner of the room, furthest from his half-brother. 

Kagome, Inuyasha's girlfriend, helped him to his feet and dust him off. After helping him, she made her way over to Tatsuhana. Sesshomaru formed a formidable barricade in front of the young woman, but Kagome brushed past him unafraid. 

"Tatsuhana Hamasaki, right?" She said with an unsure voice. 

"I'm not crazy, you know," said Tatsuhana. 

"I know. This inn is very important to you, isn't it?" 

"It's the only home I have now. They burned down my apartment. I was raised here. I can't imagine living anywhere else now." 

Kagome stuck her hand out between them. "My name's Kagome Higurashi. It's a pleasure to meet you." 

Hesitantly, Tatsuhana shook her hand, though she was more used to the traditional bowing gesture over the foreign greeting. 

"Well," said Toga, plopping down on the floor despite wearing a designer suit. "We might as well get comfortable. If ghosts are supposed to protect the inn, I don't very much like the idea of interfering where we're not wanted."

"You can't be serious, old man?" Said Inuyasha. 

"Oh. I am. If there is one thing in this world you don't want to mess with, it's the plans of dead spirits and ghosts. If Tatsuhana says that the spirits of this house are going to protect and avenge her, I think we should bunker down for a while and let them do their thing."

"Father, you're really—" Sesshomaru started before he was interrupted. 

Toga flashed his son the kind of gaze best suited for punishing a disobedient child. There were no further arguments. The five of them settled down for a long evening. The only window was a small hole in the wall. It didn't let in very much light except for a few rays. Tatsuhana watched the light shift from golden red to black. Tonight the moon wasn't even half full but a sliver of silver hanging above the city. She pressed her ear to the door leading out. However, there was no sound. Her heart sank a little.

 _Maybe I am going crazy?_

She looked around the dim room. Inuyasha and Kagome settled along the wall opposite while Toga was in the shadows meditating somewhere. With Tatsuhana kneeling on the floor, Sesshomaru was the only one standing. He crossed the room as quiet as a cat, though she certainly thought it would be an insult to even suggest the idea of Sesshomaru moving like a feline. He was lean like a white panther, yet nothing except his movement screamed of cat-like mannerisms. It was the sixth sense Tatsuhana developed living in a haunted inn. It might not have shown in his current form, but Sesshomaru was a dog demon, that much she was sure about. He leaned against the opposite side of the door frame. Even in the dark, his amber eyes were able to find her. 

"Aren't you going to call me crazy too? I've had my ear pressed to this door for the last twenty minutes, and I can't hear a thing," she said. 

"This place reeks of spirits. You'd have to be a lowly human to not be able to smell them lingering in the air."

"Gee, thanks," Tatsuhana scoffed. 

"How can you stand it? Being surrounded by so many of them? Surely, you must have thought about exorcising them?" 

Tatsuhana shook her head. "That would be very rude, wouldn't it? Some of these spirits have been around longer than I have been alive, and they have a better claim to this place than I do. They let me inside the family shrine more of an act of pity than loyalty. I'm adopted, after all. What do the ghosts and spirits of the previous owners owe me?"

Sesshomaru finally sat down. He pressed his back to the wall. In a surprising gesture, he patted the spot next to him. Tatsuhana carefully scooted over to him as best she could while in her yukata. Sesshomaru pushed her head against his shoulder. Tatsuhana froze. It was all she could do to avoid shuddering. She felt his claws gently scrape against the back of her head. 

"Sleep." He ordered. "You're useless to anyone without it."

"Yes, your highness." Tatsuhana giggled and let herself relax. 

Hours had gone by and still not a sound. The two dog demons and the half-breed kept their ears, eyes, and noses open, but there was nothing. It was as if they entered a vacuum without senses. While the ladies slept, they waited. There were no shouts, footsteps, sirens, the smell of rising smoke. Just nothing. They wondered if, in her grief and stress, Tatsuhana succumbed to madness. Dawn eventually streamed through the tiny window. Kagome and Tatsuhana roused from their uneasy sleep. Tatsuhana unlocked the door and pushed away from the barricade with Sesshomaru's help. 

Tatsuhana tried to leave ahead of everyone else only to have Sesshomaru push her behind his back. He headed the train of people down the hallway. There was nothing amiss on the third and second floor, at least as far as Tatsuhana could tell. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary until they reached the first floor. 

Her heart dropped to her stomach. The first floor looked like a tsunami had blown through her inn. Paintings were knocked off the way. Claws gouged holes in the walls, rice-paper doors, and even the ceiling. Lanterns had been tugged off their hooks or pedestals and lay in broken heaps of paper and wood. The floors smelled of wasted alcohol. Tatsuhana quickly found the emptied bottles of plum wine and sake scattered throughout the hall. 

Each room had some kind of damage to it. The murals which made the inn so famous were disfigured with tears and stains, none of which looked like blood, thankfully. They had to kick aside broken pottery and dishes to walk from one end of the inn to the other. 

"Oh…my…god," Tatsuhana spoke under her breath while inspecting a broken statue of Kwan Yin that her great-grandfather made himself.

"All of this happened while we were locked upstairs?" Toga wondered aloud. "It seems that the ghosts got a little carried away." 

Tatsuhana was no longer listening. Her head filled with all the calculations necessary to figure out how much it would cost to repair everything and replace that which had been lost. The figure kept growing and growing until the number made her too dizzy to stand. She wandered down the halls towards the back where the small hot spring was. To be honest, Tatsuhana didn't know what compelled her to head towards the hot springs in the first place. All she wanted was to not look at the chaos that had become her home. Footsteps followed behind her, but that wasn't enough to stop her. 

The air grew hot and muggy the closer she drew. Tatsuhana pushed back the curtain leading to the women's side of the hot spring. Steam rose in heavy clouds to meet. She scanned the area and edged towards the pool. Emotionally exhausted, Tatsuhana sat down on a rock. She rubbed her face, though, that did very little to help her. Tatsuhana took a deep breath and let it out. 

Behind her, something bobbed in the water. The only reason she could tell was her experience in the hot spring and living at the inn almost her whole. It was a dull sound like how a bowl rose to the surface. Tatsuhana turned to look at what had fallen into the pool. When she saw, she opened her mouth wide and screamed. 

The footsteps grew louder. When Sesshomaru found her at last, she was had her hand clapped over her mouth. Tatsuhana turned white as a sheet, and she pointed at the hot spring shrouded in mist. His demon eyes were able to pierce through them and see what had frightened Tatsuhana so much. 

Floating on top of the water was a bloated corpse. It hadn't been there very long, but it was large and rounded. The corpse reminded him of one of the Band of Seven. Sesshomaru fished it out of the hot spring. Tatsuhana scampered out of the way while Sesshomaru rolled the body onto its back. The others joined them as soon as Tatsuhana's cries reached them. Kagome hid behind Inuyasha's back as they all looked at who had drowned in the night. 

"Who's that?" Asked Inuyasha. 

"I-I think I know him. I remember him from the park when they tried to kidnap me. It's—" 

"Mukotsu, the poison master," said Sesshomaru.

"But how did he end up here?" Toga pondered. 

While he, Sesshomaru, and Inuyasha debated what to do, Tatsuhana looked out into the area. She saw movement in the corner of her eye, and for a moment, she thought that one of the Band had returned to avenge their brother. It wasn't a murderous thug. Instead, it was a small young girl sitting on a boulder. Her hair and clothes belonged to another era, and no one but Tatsuhana saw her. The girl smiled at Tatsuhana with a bit of wicked humor. 

" _Nana_ ," Tatsuhana scolded under her breath, hoping none of them would hear her. 

"Are you alright?" Kagome touched her shoulder, bringing Tatsuhana away from the figure melting into the hot spring's mist. 

"I'll be okay." She glanced at Mukotsu's gray body soaked to the bone. "I think."

Elsewhere, the remaining members of the Band of Seven knelt in front of a large desk. Their bodies were decorated with wounds of various kinds. Blood, sweat, and tears swept down their faces. The figure standing on the other side of the desk held his back to them and let himself be silhouetted by the morning sun. 

"Tell me again how you failed to obtain entrance to the basement?" 

Bankotsu alone raised his head. "We were unprepared for a counter-attack, Naraku, sir."

"Oh, and tell me, how did one woman stop you? Was she armed to the teeth? Did she have a horde of demons to protect her?" 

"N-No, sir, the inn…it's—"

"If you're going to tell me you were afraid of some ghost stories, then I will kill you right now!" Naraku turned and slammed his fist against his desk. "You will tell me what happened so I can think of a proper punishment for you."

"We entered the courtyard at sunset like we planned. We thought that the presence of Toga Taisho and his two sons would be easy to handle, but when we entered, they appeared nowhere in sight along with the woman," said Renkotsu, who kept his head down. 

"We searched everywhere, but there was no sign of a living thing in that place," said Jakotsu.

"And when we came back down to the first floor…those things attacked us," said Bankotsu. 

"What things?" Naraku hissed. 

Bankotsu lowered his head down to the floor again and refused to answer. So did the others. How humiliating would it be that the Band of Seven fought a bunch of angry ghosts and lost? There was too much pride to be lost to care what Naraku was deciding to do to them. 

"If you weren't useful pawns, I would slaughter you here and now. However," his eyes narrowed at the three prostrate in his office. "The next time you fail me, I'll have your heads served on platters and used for table decorations. Is that clear?"

"Yessir!" All three mercs answered loudly. 

Someone dared to knock on the door. 

"What is it?" Naraku growled. 

Rather than asking to come in, the visitor entered unannounced and without introduction. Red hair, golden eyes, pointed fox ears atop his head, and the pristine claws on his fingers spoke of his pedigree before he even opened his mouth. As if to solidify what could already be guessed four fox tails sprouted at the base of his spine. 

"Am I early for our meeting, Naraku?" Asked the visitor.

"No, Akio. You're just in time," said Naraku. He sneered at the three mercenaries bowed down. "Get yourselves out of my sight for a while, and don't forget to lay low. The next time you fail me, it will be your heads."

"Yessir!" Bankotsu, Renkotsu, and Jakotsu clumsily rose to their feet and filed out of the office, shutting the door behind them. 

"I heard you were having a little trouble with a woman, my friend. Anything I can do to help?" 

"I think I can handle one woman, Akio." Naraku spat.

A crimson brow shot up. Akio the fox demon smirked at him as he took a seat in front of the desk. Naraku settled down into the leather chair on the other side. 

"That's not what I heard," said Akio.

"Then what, pray tell, can you do better?" 

"Watch and learn, my spidery friend. Watch and learn."


End file.
